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 digital asset treasury management. Lee noted, 'Bitmine's ether holdings have surpassed 5 million, 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 expansion of its ether position, while many 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 generating around $264 million in annualized revenue. Lee emphasized ether's evolving role, stating that it is increasingly being viewed as a 'store of value' and collateral, driven by growing adoption in financial transactions.
He also highlighted ether's outperformance of the S&P 500 since the start of the Iran conflict and its increasing use cases, such as tokenization and AI systems, as a long-term driver for the asset.