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 of the second-largest cryptocurrency. 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.
According to Tom Lee, '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, continues a trend of larger weekly acquisitions as Bitmine expands its position while most digital asset treasuries remain 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. Furthermore, 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. Tom Lee has also emphasized ether's evolving role, stating that it is increasingly being viewed as a 'store of value' and collateral, citing recent research and growing use cases such as tokenization and AI systems that rely on public blockchains.