In brief
- BitMine Immersion Technologies recently purchased 153,000 Ethereum.
- It now owns roughly 1.5% of the asset’s supply, with its stash valued above $8 billion.
- Ethereum is having a “1971 moment,” Tom Lee said.
BitMine Immersion Technologies recently purchased 153,000 Ethereum, taking a $655 million step toward its goal of owning 5% of the asset’s supply, according to a press release.
The Las Vegas-based firm now owns roughly 1.86 million Ethereum worth $8.1 billion. The company, which initiated its Ethereum treasury strategy in late June, currently owns 1.5% of the 120.7 million Ethereum in existence, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko.
BitMine is the largest corporate holder of Ethereum, according to Strategic Ethereum Reserve. The firm owns more Ethereum than the combined holdings of Ethereum treasury firms SharpLink Gaming and The Ether Machine, as well as the non-profit Ethereum Foundation.
In a video shared on Monday, Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, who serves as chair of BitMine’s board, said Ethereum is in the midst of having a “1971 moment.” That year, the U.S. government moved away from the gold standard, making the greenback “synthetic,” he said.
Innovation in financial services boomed after the gold standard was abandoned, with the advent of money market funds and debit cards presenting notable examples, Lee said.
The next decade could be marked by the adoption of stablecoins and tokenized equities, he added, with this summer’s passage of the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act driving adoption on-chain. As artificial intelligence systems become more sophisticated, AI could build on the blockchain, too, Lee posited.
“In 2025, as the real word becomes digital, it’s going to be natural to say, ‘I want to find a digital store of value,’ and that’s Bitcoin,” Lee said. “But it’s going to create a market for digital assets, and we think the winner there is Ethereum. In fact, Wall Street is building here.”
BitMine owns some Bitcoin, in addition to the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. As of Monday, BitMine owned 192 Bitcoin worth $21 million.
BitMine’s stock price fell 3.5% to $42.11 on Monday, according to Yahoo Finance. Ethereum meanwhile dipped to $4,300, showing a 0.5% decline over the same period. ETH is down about 13% since hitting an all-time high price just under $5,000 late last month.
Bitcoin has outperformed Ethereum for years, but during the pandemic-era crypto boom, both cryptocurrencies were widely popular. On Ethereum’s best day relative to Bitcoin in November, 2021, 1 Ethereum could be exchanged for roughly 0.085 Bitcoin, according to TradingView.
So far, that ratio has recovered from a multi-year low of 0.018 in April. The ratio stood at 0.038 on Monday, which is still below an 8-year average of 0.047, Lee said. Assuming Bitcoin’s price reaches $250,000, Ethereum would be worth $12,000, if that 8-year average holds true.
“Not only should Ethereum recover to the long-term average, it should probably get to the all-time high ratio, and arguably exceed it, as we start talking about Ethereum as the chain for both Wall Street to build its financial rails and the financial system, as well as AI,” Lee said.
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Source: https://decrypt.co/337757/bitmines-boosts-ethereum-stash-8-billion
