BitMine Immersion Technologies has bought 153,000 Ethereum, a roughly $655 million acquisition that pushes its total ETH holdings to about 1.86 million tokens — roughly 1.5% of the estimated 120.7 million ETH supply, the company said in a press release.
The Las Vegas firm, which launched an Ethereum treasury strategy in late June, now holds an ETH stake valued at approximately $8.1 billion, making it the largest corporate holder of Ethereum, according to Strategic Ethereum Reserve. That total exceeds combined holdings reported by SharpLink Gaming, The Ether Machine and the non-profit Ethereum Foundation.
BitMine’s board chair Tom Lee described the moment as an “1971 moment” — a reference to the U.S. leaving the gold standard — arguing the shift could spark new waves of financial innovation. Lee pointed to on-chain growth for stablecoins, tokenized equities and potential AI-driven services, and said recent stablecoin-focused legislation could accelerate institutional adoption.
On the markets side, BitMine also holds a small Bitcoin position: 192 BTC valued at roughly $21 million. The company’s stock slipped about 3.5% to $42.11 the same day, while Ethereum traded near $4,300, roughly 13% below last month’s all-time high. Lee noted the ETH/BTC ratio has recovered from multi-year lows but still sits under its eight-year average — a metric he uses when modeling upside if Bitcoin rallies.
Why it matters: a large corporate treasury move can shape institutional narratives and influence liquidity dynamics on-chain. That said, crypto markets remain volatile and corporate accumulation strategies do not guarantee price appreciation — investors should factor in market risk.
Source: Decrypt. Read the original coverage for full details.
