Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) said it now holds 4.8 million ether (ETH) worth about $10.2 billion at current prices, putting the company within reach of its stated goal of accumulating 5% of the total ether supply.
In a statement on Monday, the company also said that its shares will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange, starting April 9.
Bitmine owns 3.98% of the 120.7 million circulating ether supply, compared to bitcoin Strategy’s 3.8%. 20 million. Both companies have turned treasury accumulation into a stock narrative and both are buying aggressively as prices decline.
Bitmine acquired 71,252 ETH last week, its highest pace of purchases since late December, according to CEO Tom Lee, who framed the purchase as a bet that ether is in “the final stages of the mini-crypto winter.”
Total cryptocurrency and cash holdings now stand at $11.4 billion, including $864 million in cash, 198 BTC, and smaller positions in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings.
Bitmine’s model differs from the strategy when it comes to staking or depositing tokens to help secure the Ethereum blockchain in exchange for a reward. Of the 4.8 million ETH it holds, 3.33 million are staked through Mavan, the company’s institutional-grade validation network that began operating on Monday.
That staked position is worth approximately $7.1 billion and generates $196 million in annualized staking income with a 2.78% yield, giving Bitmine a recurring income stream that Strategy’s bitcoin treasury does not have.
At full rollout, when all of Bitmine’s ETH is staked, the company projects $282 million in annual staking rewards.
Lee defended wartime ether in the announcement, noting that ETH has gained 6.8% since the conflict with Iran began, outperforming the S&P 500 by 1,130 basis points and gold by 1,840 basis points. “ETH is the store of value in times of war,” Lee said, a framework that would have been difficult to discuss six months ago but now has data behind it.
Bitmine is now the 96th most traded stock in the US with an average daily volume of $987 million, ranking between Schlumberger and Adobe. The investor base includes ARK Invest, Founders Fund, Pantera, Galaxy Digital and Kraken.
