BitMine Immersion Technologies is closing in on one of the boldest accumulation targets in crypto. The Tom Lee-chaired company added another 7,430 ETH to its corporate treasury over the past week, lifting total holdings to 5,777,468 tokens — roughly 4.8% of Ethereum's estimated 120.7 million supply, or about 96% of the way to its stated goal of owning 5% of the entire network, a mission the company calls the 'Alchemy of 5%.'

Valuing its ETH at $1,879 per token as of July 19, BitMine also disclosed $385 million in cash and marketable securities, 207 Bitcoin, a $180 million stake in MrBeast's Beast Industries, and a $58 million position in Eightco Holdings — bringing its combined crypto, cash, and investment portfolio to $11.5 billion.

Why the Buying Slowed: A Pivot to Buybacks

The week's purchase was markedly smaller than the 27,801 ETH acquired the week before — and the explanation is a capital-allocation shift, not a strategy change. Chairman Tom Lee tied the slower Ethereum pace directly to share repurchases: BitMine bought back roughly 5.5 million common shares at an average price of $15.6156 under its previously authorized $4 billion repurchase program, a move Lee framed as beneficial to shareholder value. The company emphasized it has bought Ethereum every single week since launching its treasury strategy on June 30, 2025 — and this week was no exception, just lighter.

85% Staked, and Staking Now Pays the Bills

The treasury isn't sitting idle. BitMine reported 4,917,189 ETH staked as of July 19 — about 85% of its holdings, worth roughly $9.2 billion at its stated price — generating an estimated $247 million in annualized revenue at recent yields, with the potential to reach about $290 million if the entire position were eventually staked through its MAVAN platform and other partners. Those projections remain sensitive to staking yields, validator performance, and deployment levels.

Staking has quietly become the company's core business. Ethereum staking and validation generated $45.7 million in the quarter ended May 31 — fully 98% of BitMine's $46.5 million in revenue — displacing its legacy Bitcoin mining and equipment operations. The company began native staking in November 2025 before launching its Made in America Validator Network (MAVAN) in March 2026, positioning the platform to serve institutional investors and custodians alongside its own treasury.

The Largest Corporate ETH Holder, Now in the Russell 1000

BitMine remains the largest corporate Ethereum treasury holder by disclosed holdings, and its footprint in traditional markets is expanding to match: the company joined the Russell 1000 index on June 26, and its shares averaged $579 million in daily dollar trading volume over the five sessions ending July 17, per company and Fundstrat data.

Notably, the accumulation has continued even with ETH trading well below levels seen in earlier phases of the strategy — which cuts both ways: it lowers the cost of the remaining climb to 5%, while making staking yield, rather than price appreciation, the engine of near-term returns. With the target within touching distance, the more interesting question may soon shift from whether BitMine reaches 5% of Ethereum to what it does once it holds it.

Source: Reporting via crypto.news (Olivia Stephanie), based on BitMine’s July 20 disclosure. This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice.