Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Chairman Tom Lee, has acquired 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 strategic shift from bitcoin mining to a digital asset treasury firm. Tom Lee stated, 'The company'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 approximately $236 million, continues the company's trend of substantial weekly acquisitions, 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 around 3.7 million tokens, or 73% of its holdings, now staked, generating approximately $264 million in annualized revenue. Tom Lee has repositioned ether as a 'wartime store of value,' citing its growing use as collateral in financial transactions and its outperformance of the S&P 500 since the onset of the Iran conflict.
He highlighted the increasing adoption of ether in tokenization and AI systems, providing a long-term boost to the asset.