BitMine Adds 42,197 ETH, Lifting Ethereum Treasury to 5.74M Tokens

Ethereum News

Publicly traded Ethereum (ETH) treasury firm BitMine Immersion Technologies expanded its holdings again, purchasing 42,197 ETH over the past week and lifting its reserve to 5,742,237 tokens. The company's investor-relations disclosure puts its combined crypto, cash and marketable securities at roughly $11.1 billion, with the ETH stack alone worth close to $10 billion. That position now represents about 4.8% of Ethereum's estimated 120.7 million circulating supply, cementing BitMine as the largest corporate holder of the second-ranked altcoin. Chairman Tom Lee framed the buy as part of a deliberate, steady accumulation cadence the firm intends to maintain throughout 2026.

Beyond simply holding the asset, BitMine has built its treasury around yield. The company reported that 4,879,157 ETH — roughly 85% of its total position, worth about $8.8 billion at $1,800 per token — is now staked through its US-based validator network and partner operators. At current rates, management projects annualized staking income near $235 million on deployed capital, a figure that could climb toward $277 million once reserves are fully allocated. Staking, the process of locking ETH to help secure the proof-of-stake network in exchange for rewards, has become a defining revenue line for the firm rather than a secondary benefit of accumulation.

The disclosures landed alongside a contrasting signal from the largest corporate Bitcoin (BTC) holder. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, sold 3,588 BTC across two transactions for roughly $216 million, according to co-founder Michael Saylor. The company said the proceeds funded quarterly dividends tied to its STRF, STRE, STRK and STRD preferred shares, plus the June payout on STRC. The sales trimmed its reserve to 843,775 BTC and marked a notable break from the accumulation-first posture that long defined its identity. Strategy remains the largest corporate Bitcoin holder by a wide margin, but the move showed preferred-share obligations now weigh on its capital decisions.

Lee tied his optimism to shifting regulatory odds, pointing to prediction-market pricing that put the Clarity Act's passage this year near 48% — its highest reading in two weeks, though well below a February peak around 82%. He argued clearer rules would accelerate adoption of smart-contract platforms like Ethereum across payments, decentralized venues built on the automated market maker model, and Layer-2 privacy networks such as the Aztec Network. The executive set a long-term target of holding about 5% of ETH's total supply, a milestone he called the “5% alchemy.” BitMine shares, trading under ticker BMNR and recently added to the Russell 1000 index, climbed more than 5% after the market open to roughly $15.14.

The week also underscored how uneven corporate demand has become. Japan-based Metaplanet returned to buying after a ten-week pause, acquiring 2,823 BTC for about $225 million at an average price near $79,664. The purchase pushed its total holdings to 40,177 BTC, reinforcing its standing as one of Asia's most aggressive corporate accumulators. The timing was striking: Metaplanet stepped up demand in the same stretch that Strategy pared its position, illustrating how divergent treasury playbooks have grown. Where one firm sold to service obligations, another deployed fresh capital, a split that has become a defining feature of the institutional landscape.

Aggregate demand told a cooler story. On-chain and market data showed net weekly Bitcoin buying by public companies excluding miners fell to about $8.89 million as of July 6, a 39.32% drop from the prior week. Excluding miners, listed firms collectively held roughly 1,141,794 BTC. The slowdown suggested corporate accumulation is moderating even as headline names remain active, with buyers turning more selective amid bear-market caution that has left many tokens well off their all-time high levels. The deceleration in fresh corporate inflows adds weight to the view that the easy phase of treasury-driven demand may be maturing as balance-sheet strategies diverge.

COINOTAG's proprietary 42-indicator composite S/R scoring engine rates the $1,806.98 resistance at 67/100, its strength drawn from the confluence of the 50-day SMA and EMA sitting directly overhead, with the next hurdle at $1,866.42 (63/100) reinforced by the Ichimoku cloud top and R3 pivot. On the downside, the engine scores the $1,708.95 support strongest at 81/100, anchored by a Fibonacci 0.214 retracement and the Ichimoku Kijun. Derivatives lean long — a 1.76 long/short ratio (63.8% long) and $6.8 billion in open interest against a slim 0.0026% funding rate — while the Fear & Greed Index reads 24 (Extreme Fear). A bullish MACD and 54.53 RSI favor a test of resistance near spot around $1,788; a break below $1,708 would invalidate the recovery thesis and expose $1,656.