Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Chairman Tom Lee, has purchased an additional 101,901 ether, bringing its total holdings to over 5 million tokens, approximately 4.21% of the circulating supply. This milestone was achieved in roughly 10 months, following the company's strategic pivot from bitcoin mining to digital asset treasury management. Lee noted, 'Bitmine's ETH holdings have surpassed 5 million, marking a significant milestone as we aim to acquire 5% of the ETH supply.' The recent $236 million purchase extends the company's streak of substantial weekly acquisitions, while most digital asset treasuries remain inactive. Bitmine's total crypto and cash holdings now stand at $13.3 billion, comprising its ETH position, 200 bitcoin, $940 million in cash, and equity stakes in various companies.
The firm has also expanded its staking operations, with approximately 3.7 million tokens, or 73% of its holdings, now staked, generating around $264 million in annualized revenue. Lee emphasized ether's evolving role, citing research by Etherealize, which suggests ETH is increasingly being viewed as a 'store of value' and collateral in digital transactions. He also highlighted ETH'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.