"It is evident that Ethereum is well positioned to garner significant share, given its neutrality and 100% uptime and reliability," Lee said.
Ethereum News
BitMine Immersion Technologies disclosed Tuesday that it purchased 45,759 Ethereum last week, bringing its total holdings to 4,371,497 Ethereum, currently valued at approximately $8.68 billion at $1,998 per token. The purchase adds to an aggressive accumulation strategy the company has maintained even as Ethereum trades roughly 60% below its all-time high of $4,946, set in August 2025.
Chairman Tom Lee said he expects 2026 to be a "defining year for Ethereum," citing three long-term growth drivers he outlined after attending the Consensus Hong Kong conference last week. Those drivers include Wall Street adoption through tokenization and privacy features on Ethereum, AI and AI-agent usage of the network for payments and verification, and creators adopting proof-of-human standards running on Ethereum layer-2 networks, including Worldchain.
"It is evident that Ethereum is well positioned to garner significant share, given its neutrality and 100% uptime and reliability," Lee said. He also acknowledged that investor sentiment is "rock bottom," comparing current conditions to the depths of the 2018 crypto winter and the November 2022 lows that followed the FTX collapse.
According to data from DropsTab, BitMine's Ethereum holdings are approximately $7.9 billion underwater based on its cost basis disclosed in a late November SEC filing, with estimates applied to more recent purchases. The firm has staked 3,040,483 of its Ethereum, and currently generates annualized staking revenue of $176 million. Once its Made in America Validator Network, known as MAVAN, is fully deployed, BitMine projects annual staking revenue could reach $252 million.
In addition to Ethereum, the company holds 193 Bitcoin worth approximately $13 million, along with $670 million in cash. BitMine also holds a $200 million stake in Beast Industries, the company behind YouTube creator MrBeast, and a $17 million position in Eightco Holdings, which focuses on accumulating Worldcoin, the token of the Worldchain and World human verification platform.
Ethereum is down approximately 33% year-to-date, and BitMine's own publicly traded shares have fallen more than 22% over the same period.
Lee said the company will continue buying regardless of short-term price movement, describing current conditions as a "mini-winter" and framing balance sheet volatility tied to Ethereum price changes as a feature of the strategy rather than a flaw. "We cannot control the price of Ethereum, and the company is acquiring ETH regardless of price trend, as the long-term outlook for Ethereum remains outstanding," he said. The company's combined crypto, cash, and strategic investments now total $9.6 billion across all holdings.
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