Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), the largest ether-focused treasury firm, purchased 60,999 ether (ETH) last week as it continues to increase its holdings of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
In symbolic terms, the purchase was the company’s largest this year, although only a small increase from the previous week’s 60,976 ETH.
The latest purchase, valued at nearly $140 million at current prices, brought Bitmine’s ETH holdings to 4,595,562 tokens, valued at more than $10 billion, according to a Monday update from the company.
The firm maintained a cash holding of $1.2 billion, even though it increased its stake in Worldcoin (WLD)-focused treasury firm Eightco (ORBS) last week alongside its purchase of ETH.
Bitmine shares rose nearly 9% premarket as cryptocurrency prices rebounded over the weekend. ETH has advanced 8.4% in the last 24 hours.
The company has steadily increased its treasury during the recent market crisis, even as unrealized losses on its position are estimated at around $6.5 billion, according to DropsTab data.
Chairman Thomas “Tom” Lee said recent geopolitical tensions have not affected cryptocurrency prices as much as other assets.
“Since the start of the war with Iran, cryptocurrency prices have outperformed and Ethereum has outperformed the S&P 500 by 2,450 basis points,” Lee said in a statement. “In our view, rising oil is raising concerns about a slowdown in growth for the global economy. And when investors worry about growth, they buy ‘growth stocks,’ including MAG7, software and cryptocurrencies.”
Bitmine continues to generate revenue by staking a large portion of its ether holdings. The company said it now earns around $180 million in annualized revenue from staking 3.04 million ETH, with potential staking revenue reaching $272 million once its tokens are locked for yield.
Read more: Ethereum Foundation sells 5,000 ether to Tom Lee’s BitMine in $10.2 million deal
