Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Chairman Tom Lee, has purchased an additional 101,901 ether tokens, bringing its total holdings to over 5 million tokens, equivalent to approximately 4.21% of the circulating ether supply. This milestone was achieved in roughly 10 months, following the company's shift from a bitcoin miner to a digital asset treasury strategy firm in June. According to Lee, 'Bitmine's ether holdings have surpassed 5 million, marking a significant milestone as we strive to acquire 5% of the ether supply.' The recent purchase, valued at around $236 million, is part of a series of larger weekly acquisitions, with most digital asset treasuries remaining inactive.
The company's total crypto and cash holdings now stand at $13.3 billion, comprising its ether position, 200 bitcoin, $940 million in cash, and equity stakes in various investments. Approximately 3.7 million ether tokens, or 73% of its holdings, are currently staked, generating around $264 million in annualized revenue.
Lee has repositioned ether as a 'wartime store of value,' citing its increasing use as collateral and its outperformance of the S&P 500 since the start of the Iran conflict. He also highlighted growing use cases such as tokenization and AI systems relying on public blockchains as a long-term driver for the asset.