Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Chairman Tom Lee, has purchased an additional 101,901 ether, bringing its total holdings to over 5 million tokens. This significant milestone, achieved in roughly 10 months, represents approximately 4.21% of the circulating ether supply.
According to Lee, 'Bitmine's ether holdings have surpassed 5 million, marking a major milestone in our pursuit of acquiring 5% of the ether supply.' The recent purchase, valued at around $236 million, continues the company's streak of substantial weekly acquisitions, while many digital asset treasuries remain inactive. With total crypto and cash holdings of $13.3 billion, Bitmine also holds 200 bitcoin, $940 million in cash, and equity stakes in various companies. The firm 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 views ether as evolving beyond a speculative asset, citing its increasing use as a 'store of value' and collateral in financial transactions.
He also notes that ether has outperformed the S&P 500 since the start of the Iran conflict, with growing use cases such as tokenization and AI systems relying on public blockchains, positioning it as a long-term 'wartime store of value'.