Bitmine Bags 27,084 ETH While Strategy Takes a Breather From Bitcoin 🐋

Bitmine Immersion Technologies, the largest public corporate holder of Ether, added 27,084 ETH to its treasury last week, bringing total holdings to 5,700,040 ETH valued at approximately $9.01 billion at an average purchase price of $1,569 per token. The firm's chairman, Tom Lee, disclosed the latest $43 million acquisition on Monday, noting that Bitmine now controls 4.7% of the 120.7 million ETH supply and is moving closer to its publicly stated goal of owning 5% of all Ether.

Bitmine has staked 4.88 million ETH, worth roughly $7.7 billion at current prices, with that staked portion representing 85% of the firm's total holdings. The company projects annualized staking revenue of $211 million, with operations generating a 2.75% annualized 7-day yield. Bitmine also reported holding $555 million in cash and marketable securities and approximately 206 Bitcoin valued at $12.3 million.

The acquisition comes as ETH fell roughly 8% during the week, trading at $1,567, down 22% over the past month and 68% off its all-time high of $4,946. Lee attributed the broader weakness to quarter-end "window dressing," saying "we are nearing quarter-end for June, and it is not surprising to see 'window dressing' leading to investors reducing their holdings in assets which have fallen in the past three months." He added that Bitmine "remains focused on the longer-term horizon," citing agentic payments and institutional adoption of crypto rails, and reiterated that "the best years for crypto remain ahead, in our view."

Bitmine's announcement coincided with its inclusion in the Russell 1000 Large-Cap Index on June 26 as part of the index's annual reconstitution. Lee said the addition is "expected to add hundreds and possibly thousands of additional institutional investors as equity owners of Bitmine," referencing prior estimates that up to 25% of the market cap of stocks included in the Russell index is held by passive index funds. Rival treasury firms Sharplink and Forward Industries, along with crypto exchange Gemini and crypto services firm Galaxy Digital, were also added to the Russell 3000 Index on Friday.

While Bitmine (BMNR) shares rose 1.7% Monday to close at $13.80, the stock has slid nearly 17% over the past five trading days and more than 31% over the past month, down more than 91% from a 52-week high of $161 set shortly after the firm adopted its Ethereum treasury strategy in June 2024. Meanwhile, Strategy (MSTR), the Bitcoin treasury pioneer founded by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, did not add to its BTC holdings last week amid scrutiny of its preferred equity offering STRC. Strategy introduced a "Digital Credit Capital Framework" on Monday, with its board approving a program that could allow the firm to sell up to $1.25 billion in BTC to fund cash reserves, make payouts on products such as STRC, or repurchase securities.