Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Chairman Tom Lee, has acquired 101,901 ether tokens, bringing its total holdings to over 5 million tokens, approximately 4.21% of the circulating supply. This milestone was achieved in roughly 10 months, since the company shifted its focus from bitcoin mining to a digital asset treasury strategy. Lee stated, 'Bitmine's ETH holdings have surpassed 5 million, marking a significant milestone as we strive to acquire 5% of the ETH supply.' The recent purchase, valued at around $236 million, is part of a larger trend of increased weekly purchases, as Bitmine expands its position while most digital asset treasuries remain inactive.
The company's total crypto and cash holdings now stand at $13.3 billion, including its ETH position, 200 bitcoin, $940 million in cash, and equity stakes in various investments. Approximately 3.7 million tokens, or 73% of its holdings, are staked, generating around $264 million in annualized revenue. Lee emphasized ether's evolving role, citing research by Etherealize, which suggests that ETH is increasingly being viewed as a 'store of value' and collateral, particularly in digital transactions.
He also highlighted ether's outperformance of the S&P 500 since the start of the Iran conflict and its growing use cases, such as tokenization and AI systems, as a long-term driver for the asset.