BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), the Nasdaq-listed treasury firm led by Tom Lee, boosted its Ethereum position as prices cooled. The company said it bought more than 150,000 ETH last week, bringing total holdings to 1,866,974 ETH — worth roughly $8.1 billion — and leaving it with about $635 million in cash to fund additional purchases.
The acquisition follows BitMine’s pivot to an ETH-focused treasury in June. The firm has an explicit goal to control around 5% of Ether’s circulating supply and plans to generate yield by staking the tokens. That strategy makes BitMine the largest publicly listed ETH treasury firm and places it behind only the largest bitcoin treasuries in total crypto assets held.
Market response has been mixed. BMNR shares were trading near $43 pre-market — about 35% below a mid‑August peak — as Ether retraced from record highs. The firm’s accumulation during a pullback illustrates a common institutional approach: increasing long-term exposure while prices are weaker.
Why this matters: sizable, public-company accumulation can tighten available supply and signal growing institutional conviction in Ethereum’s long-term thesis, especially when paired with staking yield. At the same time, concentration risk and market volatility are real considerations. Heavy exposure to a single asset, potential staking lockups, liquidity constraints and evolving regulatory scrutiny around staking and custody could all affect returns.
Source: CoinDesk. Read the original coverage for full details.