Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Chairman Tom Lee, has acquired 101,901 ether, bringing its total holdings to over 5 million tokens, equivalent to approximately 4.21% of the circulating supply. This milestone was achieved in roughly 10 months, following the company's strategic shift from bitcoin mining to a digital asset treasury firm in June. Tom Lee noted, 'Bitmine's ether holdings have crossed the 5 million threshold, marking a significant milestone in our pursuit of acquiring 5% of the ether supply.' The recent purchase, valued at around $236 million, demonstrates the company's continued accumulation of ether, while most digital asset treasuries remain inactive.
Bitmine'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 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. Tom Lee emphasized ether's evolving role, citing research by Etherealize, which suggests that ether is increasingly being viewed as a 'store of value' and collateral in financial transactions. He added that ether has outperformed the S&P 500 since the start of the Iran conflict, and its growing use cases, such as tokenization and AI systems, will drive long-term growth.