Bitmine Immersion Technologies bought another 101,901 ether worth roughly $236 million last week, pushing its treasury past 5 million ETH and cementing its lead as the largest known corporate ether holder. The Las Vegas-based firm now controls about 4.21% of all ether in circulation, according to data from The Block, less than a year after pivoting from a small bitcoin mining operation into a dedicated Ethereum treasury company. Chairman Tom Lee used the announcement to repeat a market call he has been making since spring: ether, he said, is acting as a “wartime store of value” while equities sag.
An Ethereum treasury company is a publicly traded firm that holds ETH on its balance sheet as a primary reserve asset, similar to how Strategy holds bitcoin.
Key takeaways
- Bitmine added 101,901 ETH worth about $236 million in the past week, bringing its treasury to more than 5 million tokens.
- The position equals roughly 4.21% of ether’s total supply and combined crypto and cash holdings of about $13.3 billion.
- The firm has staked over 3.7 million ETH, generating an estimated $264 million in annualized yield revenue.
- BMNR shares trade near $22 after a 52-week high of $161, down about 86% as Ethereum-heavy treasury stocks de-rate.
Published: April 27, 2026 18:00 UTC
Why a 5-million ETH milestone matters
Bitmine first telegraphed a 5% supply target in late 2025 after pivoting from bitcoin mining to an ether treasury strategy in June. Crossing 5 million tokens this week puts that target within arm’s reach: about 100,000 ETH separate Bitmine from owning one in every twenty ether ever issued. CoinDesk reported the latest purchase Monday, citing the firm’s weekly treasury disclosure.
The accumulation pace stands out. Bitmine has bought more than 5 million ETH in roughly 10 months, an average of more than 500,000 tokens per month at prices ranging from below $2,000 to above $4,000. The firm’s most recent OTC deal, on April 24, took 10,000 ETH directly from the Ethereum Foundation for about $23.87 million, according to a company press release.
The “wartime store of value” framing
Lee, who also chairs Fundstrat Global Advisors, has spent the past two months arguing that ether is decoupling from risk assets and behaving like a hedge against geopolitical disruption. With Bitcoin pulling back from $80,000 amid renewed oil-price volatility and Middle East tension, Lee told investors on the company’s call that ether is “outperforming the S&P 500 and acting as a wartime store of value.”
That framing is doing two jobs at once. It positions ETH against gold and bitcoin as a macro asset, and it gives Bitmine shareholders a reason to keep funding equity raises that are then deployed into spot ether. Lee has used a similar rhetorical move before. In April he first labeled ether a “wartime” asset when holdings hit 4.87 million tokens.
The yield story behind the headline
Beyond accumulation, Bitmine has built a staking operation that now produces meaningful cash flow. The firm stakes more than 3.7 million ETH through its in-house network, generating about $264 million in annualized yield. That income is what distinguishes an ether treasury from a bitcoin one: ether earns. Bitcoin does not.
Staking is the process of locking ether to help validate transactions on the Ethereum network, in exchange for newly issued ETH and a share of network fees. At current rates the yield runs about 3% to 4% per year before any fee revenue from staking-as-a-service customers Bitmine signs on top.
Why the stock keeps falling anyway
The accumulation story has not been kind to BMNR shareholders. The stock printed a 52-week high above $161 last fall and now trades around $22, an 86% drawdown that mirrors a broader rotation away from crypto-treasury equities. According to a recent MEXC analysis, the de-rate reflects investor concerns that mNAV multiples on ETH-heavy balance sheets have compressed even as the underlying asset holds up.
Some analysts now argue BMNR is trading below the book value of its on-chain holdings, an unusual position for a company holding 5 million liquid tokens. Seeking Alpha noted that gap last week, framing the stock as a discounted way to own ETH for investors who can stomach equity risk.
What comes next
The immediate question is whether Bitmine will keep buying through equity issuance after the recent stock drop. The firm uplisted to the New York Stock Exchange earlier this month and has filed for additional capital raises, but the size and pace of any new offering will determine how quickly the 5% target is reached.
For the broader market, Bitmine is now one of three forces concentrating ether ownership: Bitmine itself, the spot ETH ETF complex, and on-chain stakers. Together they are removing supply from open exchanges, a dynamic that has historically preceded sharp moves up or down. With macro pressure rising and Lee leaning into the wartime narrative, the next quarterly disclosure will tell the market whether retail and institutional buyers still believe the thesis.
Frequently asked questions
How much ether does Bitmine now hold?
Bitmine holds more than 5 million ETH after its latest 101,901 token purchase worth about $236 million. That equals roughly 4.21% of the total ether supply and makes Bitmine the largest known corporate ether treasury, ahead of every spot ETH ETF on a single-entity basis.
What does Tom Lee mean by ether as a “wartime store of value”?
Lee argues that ether is acting as a hedge against geopolitical disruption and equity drawdowns, similar to how gold has historically performed during conflict. He points to ETH outperforming the S&P 500 in recent months despite oil-price volatility and Middle East tensions.
Why has BMNR stock fallen 86% if Bitmine keeps buying ETH?
The decline reflects a broader rotation away from crypto-treasury equities, with mNAV multiples compressing across the sector. Some analysts argue BMNR now trades below the book value of its ether holdings, suggesting investors are pricing in dilution risk and weaker demand for treasury-strategy stocks rather than weakness in ether itself.
