The stock price of Bitmine, a US-listed company, soared 37 times to a peak of $161 after announcing the purchase of Ethereum as a treasury reserve on June 30, 2025. Subsequently, the stock price fell and maintained around $30 for a month. Recently, the stock price has rebounded, reaching a high of $69 on August 11.
Currently, Bitmine has become the institution with the largest Ethereum holdings by continuously buying ETH, with a cumulative position of 1.15 million coins.
Compared to other Ethereum "MicroStrategy" companies, Bitmine has a stronger Wall Street background. Public information shows that Cathie Wood's ARK Invest and Founders Fund are its shareholders. Famous Wall Street analyst Tom Lee is the company's board chairman, who drove the company's transformation from a traditional Bitcoin mining enterprise to an Ethereum core reserve asset platform.
With its capital strength, management team, and strategic positioning, Bitmine has emerged from multiple ETH "MicroStrategy" companies and secured the industry's top position.
Bitmine's Rise in the Ethereum Ecosystem and Wall Street Support
In recent years, as the Ethereum ecosystem rapidly expands, more institutions have begun to include ETH in their core asset allocation. As a company that successfully transformed from a traditional Bitcoin mining enterprise, Bitmine has quickly risen to become one of the largest Ethereum holders through continuous purchases. According to the latest public data, Bitmine holds 1.15 million ETH, and its continuous buying has increasingly enhanced its voice in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Another key figure is board chairman Tom Lee, who played a crucial role in driving the company's transformation from a pure mining business to an Ethereum core reserve asset platform and injected significant confidence into the entire crypto market. His active external shilling undoubtedly played a vital role in this Ethereum price surge.
Bitmine's uniqueness is also reflected in its Wall Street and US VC background. Famous investment firms ARK Invest and Founders Fund are its shareholders. Especially Cathie Wood's ARK Invest's endorsement of Bitmine demonstrates traditional financial giants' confidence in ETH, with Cathie Wood entering Ethereum and Bitmine under Tom Lee's lobbying.
Compared to other Ethereum "MicroStrategy" companies, Bitmine has gradually emerged through its strong capital background, professional management team, and clear strategic positioning, now firmly holding the top spot in Ethereum "MicroStrategy".
The BMNR stock price surge occurred when Ethereum broke through $4,000, a moment that excited the market. Both ETH and BMNR rose. According to crypto KOL @_FORAB's analysis, Tom Lee is of Korean descent. Currently, ETH and BMNR in Korea are like Luna back then, creating an investment frenzy among Korean investors. Korea's largest crypto exchange Upbit sees daily ETH trading volume approximately 70% higher than BTC. According to the Korea Securities Depository, Korean retail investors net purchased $259 million of BMNR stocks since early July, making it the most purchased overseas security during that period.
On August 11, BMNR reached the 7th position in the US with a historic trading volume of $9.272 billion, with trading volume exceeding its market value and a turnover rate of 142.54%.
Potential Risks of Continuous Stock Issuance to Buy ETH
Bitmine currently holds 1.15 million Ethereum, currently worth nearly $5 billion. How did they acquire these Ethereum?
According to their external communications, they primarily raise funds through private placements and stock issuance in the market. In late June 2025, Bitmine signed a private placement agreement to purchase and sell 55,555,556 common shares at $4.50 per share, raising $250 million to buy ETH.
As of July 24, they increased the ATM plan (a more flexible stock issuance method) from $2 billion to $4.5 billion, meaning they can raise up to $4.5 billion through flexible issuance, with funds clearly designated for increasing ETH holdings and expanding asset reserves.
The ATM issuance can flexibly adjust financing rhythm based on market conditions without issuing a large number of stocks that might depress the stock price.
At the end of July, they also launched a $1 billion stock buyback plan, essentially using company funds to repurchase their own stocks from the market, with funds ultimately flowing to stock sellers. The core purpose is to potentially increase stock price and boost shareholder confidence.
The advantage of continuously issuing stocks to raise funds for buying ETH is the ability to leverage secondary market investor funds to quickly establish an industry-leading Ethereum reserve position. This "leverage" model differs from traditional crypto companies relying solely on their own profits or MicroStrategy's convertible bond method for BTC purchases.
In terms of risks, this method doesn't increase company debt but will dilute existing shareholders' stakes. Moreover, if stock prices decline due to market downturn or weak ETH price fluctuations, the company's ability to raise funds through issuance will be significantly reduced. Essentially, coin and stock prices are highly correlated, presenting considerable risk.
