Something is happening in the Ethereum treasury space that I don't think gets nearly enough attention. While everyone watches Michael Saylor accumulate Bitcoin, Tom Lee's Bitmine has been quietly building the ETH equivalent, and this week's numbers are genuinely striking.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies acquired 76,881 ether last week for roughly $136 million, lifting the company's total Ethereum holdings to 5.62 million ETH. Combined with 204 Bitcoin, $502 million in cash and marketable securities, and investment stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings, the firm's total crypto, cash, and investment holdings now stand at $10.4 billion.
That's not a small operation. That's the largest Ethereum‑focused treasury company on the planet, and it's still actively buying.
Where the Money Came From
The fuel behind this latest purchase came directly from a capital raise that should feel familiar to anyone who has followed Strategy's financing model. Bitmine just closed a $274 million preferred stock offering, its Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, carrying a 9.5% annualised dividend and paying out weekly cash distributions.
Those shares begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BMNP on Tuesday. The structure mirrors almost exactly the preferred equity financing tools that Saylor pioneered at Strategy: raise yield‑bearing capital from investors, deploy the proceeds into a digital asset treasury, repeat.
The difference, and this is the part that matters, is that Bitmine has something Strategy doesn't. A built‑in revenue stream to support those dividend payments.
Staking Changes the Math Entirely
Tom Lee addressed the sustainability question directly in his statement, and it's the most important thing he said. Bitmine's projected annualised staking rewards on its Ethereum holdings currently run at approximately $219 million. That figure comfortably covers the dividend obligations created by the new preferred stock raise.
Strategy's preferred equity model came under scrutiny recently precisely because investors questioned how it would fund growing dividend commitments from a non‑yielding Bitcoin treasury. Saylor had to sell a small amount of Bitcoin to cover obligations last week, a move that sent symbolic shockwaves far beyond the tiny quantity involved.
Bitmine doesn't have that problem. Ethereum staking generates real, recurring cash flow. Lee called it good balance sheet diversification, which is understated. It's actually a structurally more defensible version of the same strategy.
Still Buying Despite Approaching Its Target
What also caught my attention is the timing and pace of these purchases. Lee had indicated previously that buying might slow as Bitmine approached its stated goal of owning 5% of Ethereum's total supply. With 5.62 million ETH already in the treasury, the firm is closing in on that milestone.
Yet the purchases continue. Lee's explanation is direct: the current pullback in ETH prices doesn't reflect what he believes are strengthening Ethereum fundamentals. So they're maintaining an elevated buying pace while the discount lasts.
That's a conviction trade, not a mechanical accumulation programme. And coming from one of Wall Street's most respected macro analysts, it carries a different kind of weight than a typical crypto narrative.
The Saylor playbook just got a credible new rival, and this one earns a yield while it waits.
