Bitmine bought another $135 million worth of ether this week, pushing its total stash to 5,620,754 ETH — worth roughly $10 billion at current prices. The purchase puts Bitmine 93% of the way toward owning 5% of all Ethereum in circulation. Tom Lee described the buying pace as 'elevated' despite ether trading near $1,500, well below Bitmine's average entry price.
The size of Bitmine's bet
Bitmine's average cost for ETH sits around $3,450 per coin. That means its $10 billion position carries an unrealized loss of well over $9 billion. The firm holds far more than just ether: it also has 204 BTC, $502 million in cash and marketable securities, and equity stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings worth a combined $268 million. Still, ether dominates — over 95% of its crypto portfolio by value.
Staking income cushions the loss
Bitmine has staked 4.72 million ETH — more than 83% of its holdings. That generates projected annualized staking rewards of about $226 million. The firm expects roughly $219 million of that to flow through as cash, directly supporting dividends on its Series A Preferred shares. In other words, the staking yield provides a steady revenue stream even while the unrealized loss sits on the books.
Second only to Strategy
Bitmine is now the second-largest publicly known corporate holder of a major cryptocurrency. Only Strategy tops it, with roughly $56 billion in Bitcoin. But while Strategy has focused exclusively on BTC, Bitmine has gone all-in on ETH — and it's not done yet. At the current pace, Bitmine could cross the 5% threshold of total ETH supply within a few more purchases.
Why Bitmine keeps buying
Tom Lee called the $135 million buy an 'elevated pace' given ether's recent pullback. The market is watching to see whether Bitmine will slow down or push harder. The firm's next filing will show whether it kept buying through the dip. And with staking rewards covering a big chunk of the preferred dividend obligation, the pressure to sell doesn't look urgent.
