Bitmine buys 10,399 ETH as treasury nears 5% of supply

Bitmine Immersion Technologies added 10,399 ether last week, lifting its treasury to 5,797,813 ETH — about 4.8 percent of Ethereum's 120.7 million circulating supply.

"In July, ETH outperformed the Nasdaq 100 by 2,500 basis points — the largest since July 2025 — and we believe it is reflective of the strengthening fundamentals of crypto," Thomas "Tom" Lee, Chairman of Bitmine, said in the company's Monday update. Lee noted that the last time ETH posted similar monthly outperformance, in July 2025, the token rallied from $2,375 to $4,057 by the end of August.

The purchase, valued at roughly $19.1 million at ETH's current price of $1,840, extends a weekly buying streak since the strategy's June 30, 2025 launch. Bitmine also repurchased 4.5 million shares of common stock last week, bringing total buybacks to 16 million shares under a $4 billion program. The company has staked 4,917,189 ETH — about 85 percent of holdings — through its MAVAN staking platform, projecting annualized staking revenue of roughly $247 million.

Total crypto, cash, and marketable securities reached $11.3 billion as of August 2, including 209 bitcoin, $173 million in cash, and equity stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings. The accumulation puts Bitmine within striking distance of owning 5 percent of all ether — a concentration that tightens available supply but raises questions about network decentralization.

Staking turns treasury into cash-flow engine

Nearly 4.9 million ETH — 85 percent of Bitmine's holdings — is staked through MAVAN, the company's institutional staking platform. At a 7-day annualized yield of 2.67 percent, the company projects $247 million in annualized staking revenue, rising to $291 million when fully staked. That makes the treasury strategy a yield-generating operation rather than a pure price-appreciation bet.

The staked ETH also removes a meaningful chunk of supply from the open market. With 4.8 percent of all ether held by one entity and most of it locked in staking, the available float for traders and other investors tightens further with each weekly purchase.

Contrast with Strategy's bitcoin approach

The update comes as Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate bitcoin holder, disclosed another sale of bitcoin. The company trimmed its treasury by 1,638 BTC — worth about $105 million — while repurchasing $81.2 million of its preferred stock. Strategy owns 843,775 BTC valued at approximately $57 billion.

Bitmine's approach diverges sharply: it continues to accumulate ETH weekly while simultaneously buying back its own stock. Management believes both the token and the shares are undervalued, a conviction backed by ETH's July outperformance of the Nasdaq 100 by 2,500 basis points.

For equity investors, BMNR has become a leveraged ether proxy with yield characteristics. The Russell 1000 inclusion broadens institutional access, but the thesis remains tied to ETH's price trajectory. If ether appreciates, the treasury compounds; if it enters a prolonged downturn, the $11.3 billion asset base could compress faster than the buyback program can support the stock. The $247 million in projected staking revenue provides a buffer, but it is denominated in ETH, not dollars — a 30 percent drop in ether would compress that figure proportionally in fiat terms.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.