Key Takeaways
- Bitmine purchased another 12,535 ETH, bringing its holdings to 6.04 million ETH, approaching its 5% supply target.
- Chairman Tom Lee blamed AI funding and safety fears, among other factors, for a recent market sell-off that has impacted crypto prices.
- Bitmine has staked over 5 million ETH, generating an estimated $309 million in annualized staking rewards.
Bitmine Inches Closer to 5% ETH Supply Target
Bitmine, chaired by Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, announced Monday that it now holds 6,041,481 ETH, worth nearly $14.5 billion at a recent ether price near $2,400. The company’s combined cryptocurrency holdings, cash, marketable securities, and strategic investments total $15.1 billion, down from $16.2 billion a week earlier.
The latest acquisition, worth approximately $29.6 million at the company’s reported ETH price, follows a nearly identical purchase of 12,532 ETH the previous week. With more than 6 million ETH, BitMine’s latest disclosed purchase reinforces its position as the world’s largest publicly traded ether treasury.
Bitmine now controls approximately 4.9% of ether’s circulating supply of 122.1 million tokens, putting it roughly 63,500 ETH away from achieving its stated 5% ownership target. The company has pursued that goal since launching its Ethereum treasury strategy on June 30, 2025, and Lee said recently that the firm plans to cease purchases once it hits that target.
Beyond Ethereum, Bitmine reported holding $17.6 million worth of bitcoin, a $180 million investment in Beast Industries, a $74 million stake in Eightco Holdings, and $582 million in cash and marketable securities.
The company is also generating revenue through Ethereum staking. As of Oct. 18, Bitmine had staked 5,067,309 ETH, representing approximately 84% of its total holdings and valued at roughly $12 billion. Its staking operations currently generate an estimated $309 million in annualized rewards, with potential revenue reaching $369 million if its entire Ethereum treasury is staked.
AI Fears Are Impacting Crypto Prices, Says Tom Lee
Lee attributed recent weakness in cryptocurrency markets to declining investor appetite for risk, including concerns about AI spending and safety. The price of ETH is down 11.5% in the last two weeks, while bitcoin has fallen 4.4% in the same span.
“The risk appetite of investors contracted in the past few weeks fueled by the worrying combination of AI funding and AI model safety; escalating US-Iran war activity; anxiousness in front of U.S. midterm elections, and generally rising bond yields around the world,” he said, in a statement. “This has triggered a sell-off in AI stocks including semis and memory stocks, and has further led to sell-offs in the Korean and Taiwan markets, both of which are dominated by semis and memory stocks.”
“Crypto is widely held in the U.S., Korea and Taiwan. So naturally, when investors in those regions de-risk, this creates spillover pressures in crypto markets,” he continued. “In the past, whenever fundamentals remain resilient and strong, while price declines, these have historically been attractive risk/reward opportunities. And given crypto’s positive exposure to both modernizing global financial system rails and to agentic AI, we believe this will again prove to be the case,” continued Lee.
Bitmine remains the second-largest publicly traded cryptocurrency treasury company by reported holdings value, trailing Michael Saylor’s bitcoin-focused Strategy, which holds approximately $69.5 billion worth of BTC as of this writing.
