Competition among Ethereum reserve companies is intensifying, with BitMine making substantial purchases of over 300,000 ETH in just a few weeks, becoming the world's largest ETH holder. Chairman and Wall Street analyst Tom Lee pointed out the past performance of MicroStrategy, emphasizing that BitMine's initial scale is even larger than that of MicroStrategy, with promising prospects ahead.
BitMine swept up 300,000 ETH in three days, surpassing the foundation and SharpLink.
Bitcoin miner BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) announced yesterday that it has accumulated as much as 300,657 ETH as of yesterday, with a market value exceeding $1 billion. It has become the world's largest ETH holder, surpassing SharpLink Gaming and the Ethereum Foundation (EF), which are also Ethereum reserve companies.
At the beginning of July, BitMine announced the completion of a PIPE (private investment) financing for purchasing ETH, raising a total of $250 million. However, within just a week, the funds they invested had already surpassed three times the fundraising amount, clearly indicating they were well-prepared.
The company also broke the record of 280,000 ETH set a few days ago by the American online gaming company SharpLink, initiating a new round of 'ETH reserve competition' among listed companies.
(Peter Thiel invests over 9.1% equity in Tom Lee's Ethereum reserve company BitMine, with the fund simultaneously taking a stake)
From MicroStrategy to BitMine: Tom Lee explains why strategy is more important than the rise in coin prices.
As Chairman Tom Lee described BitMine as 'the MicroStrategy of Ethereum', the company clearly borrowed from the successful template of Bitcoin reserve company MicroStrategy (Strategy, MSTR), which has focused on financing to buy coins since 2020, incorporating BTC onto its balance sheet, causing its stock price to surge from $13 to $455, with a five-year increase of over 35 times.
1/ On DAT* and BTC/ETH Treasuries *post has consent from @saylor
CASE STUDY: $MSTR created the template for crypto treasury.
– since 2020 start of $BTC strategy, @MicroStrategy – stock gain from $13 to $455
QUESTION? How much is due to BTC rise vs treasury strategy… pic.twitter.com/Xc4FJPzA4x
— Thomas (Tom) Lee (not drummer) FSInsight.com (@fundstrat) July 17, 2025
In this regard, Tom Lee also posted an analysis yesterday, pointing out that out of this 35 times increase, 11 times came from the price increase of Bitcoin itself, while the remaining 25 times came from its 'financial operations', raising funds through stock issuance and convertible bonds to buy coins, thereby increasing the amount of coins held per share and net asset value, and boosting company valuation.
In other words, 'the corporate strategy itself is more important than just the rise in coin prices.' This model is now applied by BitMine to ETH, yielding quick results, with BMNR's stock price rising 769.3% within a month.
(ETH launches an offensive, celebrity endorsements lead to higher growth of Ethereum reserve companies than Ether itself)
Is ETH more vigorous and harder to control than BTC? Analyzing the risks of ETH reserves
It is worth noting that ETH's price volatility is much higher than BTC's, which increases the potential investment returns of leverage operations but also amplifies risks. Tom Lee candidly stated: 'This high volatility can reduce financing costs and increase arbitrage opportunities, but it also significantly raises operational difficulties.'
But he also confidently stated that while MicroStrategy initially bought BTC with $250 million, BitMine started with the same capital but reached a value of $1 billion in ETH holdings by the seventh day, demonstrating faster initiation and stronger execution.
However, if ETH experiences a sharp correction, BitMine will also face high-risk positions and market scrutiny. This is also the double-edged sword of the Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) strategy, which can accelerate corporate growth but also amplify downside risks.
(Not every company can be MicroStrategy: analyzing the risks of crypto reserve companies from SharpLink's 70% plunge)
Can the ETH reserve strategy replicate its success, becoming a barometer for corporate cryptocurrency?
Whether BitMine's transformation is financial innovation or market gambling remains to be seen, but in any case, it has become one of the examples of Ethereum reserve companies, likely leading to more listed companies following suit. In this regard, Tom Lee bluntly stated:
The potential for BMNR's rise will be directly affected by how much ETH rises or falls in the future. However, even though ETH has been fluctuating within a range since 2020, stablecoins have now created a 'ChatGPT moment' for cryptocurrencies.
This article reports that BitMine's sweeping of 300,000 ETH has made it the largest holder, with Tom Lee stating: the initial scale is larger than MicroStrategy's, first appearing in Chain News ABMedia.
