Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Chairman Tom Lee, has purchased 101,901 ETH, bringing its total holdings to over 5 million tokens, approximately 4.21% of the circulating ether supply. This milestone was achieved in roughly 10 months, following the company's pivot from a bitcoin miner to a digital asset treasury strategy company in June.
According to Lee, 'Bitmine 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, continues a trend of larger weekly acquisitions as Bitmine expands its position while most digital asset treasuries remain inactive. The firm's total crypto and cash holdings amount to $13.3 billion, including its ETH position, 200 bitcoin, $940 million in cash, and equity stakes in various companies.
Additionally, Bitmine has 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 has also emphasized ether's evolving role, citing research by Etherealize, which suggests that ETH is increasingly being viewed as a 'store of value' and collateral as digital assets become more prominent in financial transactions.
He noted that ETH has outperformed the S&P 500 since the start of the Iran conflict and highlighted growing use cases such as tokenization and AI systems relying on public blockchains as a long-term driver for the asset. Lee stated, 'There is significant relevance to ETH being considered the best 'war-time store of value' and leading the market since the war began.'