35 days, from zero to the world's largest, BitMine's Ethereum treasury strategy is rewriting the rules of institutional participation in the crypto economy.
On July 1, 2025, BitMine's ETH holdings were still zero. Just 35 days later, this previously obscure Bitcoin mining company held over 830,000 ETH, becoming the largest corporate holder of Ethereum in the world.
As of mid-August, BitMine's ETH holdings had increased to approximately 1.2 million, valued at about $5.48 billion. This is not only a shift in corporate treasury strategy but also the beginning of a wave of institutional funds flowing into the crypto world.
1. Strategic Shift: From Zero to the Largest Ethereum Whale
The speed of BitMine's rise is astonishing. On June 30, 2025, the company announced a $250 million private placement, officially shifting to an Ethereum treasury strategy.
● This move received backing from Wall Street heavyweights—Fundstrat founder Thomas Lee became the chairman of the board, followed by investments from former PayPal CEO Peter Thiel and Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood.
● Under Thomas Lee's leadership, BitMine launched a textbook-level capital allocation operation. On July 14, the company announced it held over $500 million worth of ETH; just three days later, this figure doubled to $1 billion. By August 4, BitMine held 833,000 ETH, becoming the largest ETH treasury globally.
● BitMine's buying pace was precise and rapid. According to its disclosures, the company completed its first batch purchase of approximately 150,000 ETH in the first week; total holdings surpassed 560,000 in the second week; and by the third week, cumulative holdings exceeded 830,000.
This efficient capital allocation was made possible by the "OTC structure design + on-chain settlement + custody settlement" toolchain provided by Galaxy Digital, allowing it to absorb large amounts of ETH without causing significant price fluctuations.
2. Treasury Strategy: A New Model for Digital Asset Custody
The DAT (Digital Asset Treasury) model adopted by BitMine is redefining the way companies create value.
Business Model
BitMine's business model centers on cryptocurrency mining and strategic reserves, forming a "technology-driven + asset allocation + ecological synergy" triad:
● Immersive Cooling Mining: Utilizing oil immersion cooling technology to operate Bitcoin mines, reducing energy consumption by over 30% compared to traditional air cooling, extending the lifespan of mining machines. The mines are located in Texas, USA, and Trinidad and Tobago, rapidly expanding computing power by leasing 800 Antminer S-19 machines in 2025, resulting in a 571% year-on-year increase in mining revenue.
● Mining as a Service (MaaS): Providing one-stop mining solutions for enterprises, including machine leasing, power management, and financial support, lowering the entry barrier for institutions. For example, partnering with Luxor Technology to launch a computing power leasing smart contract, achieving automated profit distribution.
● Ethereum Strategic Reserves: Initiating the Ethereum treasury strategy through a $250 million private placement in 2025, aiming to become one of the largest publicly listed ETH holders globally. Funds are used to directly purchase ETH and participate in staking (with an annual yield of about 5%), while also exploring yield from DeFi protocol layers.
● Financialization of Computing Power: Transforming computing power into tradable financial products, offering synthetic mining contracts, allowing investors to participate in mining profit sharing without holding hardware.
Profit Model
Cryptocurrency-related profits mainly come from four major paths:
● Bitcoin Mining Revenue: Generating Bitcoin from owned mines, with mining revenue accounting for 68% of total company revenue in May 2025. Mining machine hosting services charge a monthly fee based on computing power, at a rate of $0.08 / TH / day.
● Ethereum Appreciation and Staking Revenue: As of July 17, 2025, holding 300,657 ETH (valued over $1 billion), achieving asset appreciation through price fluctuations. At the same time, staking part of the ETH yields an annual return of about 5%, with staking income reaching $1.2 million in Q2 2025.
● Private Placement Financing and Token Issuance: Completing a $250 million private placement in 2025 to increase ETH holdings, while planning to issue stablecoins pegged to real assets (such as photovoltaic power station revenue rights), creating a closed loop for on-chain financing and payments.
● Profit Sharing from Computing Power Contracts: Charging a management fee of 20% on synthetic mining contract profits, with this business's revenue growing 340% year-on-year in Q1 2025, becoming the second-largest source of profit.
Impact of the Profit Model
● Enhanced financial risk resistance: Bitcoin and Ethereum reserves account for 72% of the company's total assets, with a debt-to-asset ratio of only 12% in Q2 2025, significantly lower than the industry average. ETH staking revenue provides stable cash flow, reducing reliance on mining income.
● Benchmark effect of technological innovation: Immersive cooling technology has been widely emulated in the industry, with this solution accounting for 35% of new mining sites in the U.S. in 2025, improving Bitcoin mining efficiency by 22%.
● Release of ecological synergy value: By increasing ETH holdings, BitMine deeply participates in the Ethereum ecosystem, such as collaborating with Kraken to develop DeFi liquidity pools, driving a 47% increase in USDT trading volume on the ETH chain.
Impact on Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin (BTC):
● Pricing power in the computing power market: BitMine's computing power accounts for 0.8% of the global Bitcoin network, and its mining machine deployment strategy directly affects mining difficulty adjustments. In June 2025, the expansion of computing power led to an 11% month-on-month increase in network difficulty, temporarily suppressing profits for small and medium miners.
● Market confidence transmission: The continuous increase in Bitcoin holdings is seen as a signal of institutional entry, with its Bitcoin holdings accounting for 0.0007% of the total circulating supply in Q2 2025, demonstrating a stabilizing effect on short-term price fluctuations.
Ethereum (ETH):
● Restructuring of supply and demand: BitMine plans to acquire and stake 5% of the Ethereum supply (approximately 6.03 million ETH), which may lead to a reduction in circulating supply, pushing up staking yields. By July 2025, the ETH staking rate had risen from 18% at the beginning of the year to 22%.
● Accelerator for ecological development: By participating in DeFi protocols (such as Uniswap V4 liquidity pools) and Layer 2 scaling projects (such as Caldera), BitMine promotes a 15% increase in Ethereum transaction throughput and a 28% growth in daily active addresses.
3. Why Choose Ethereum?
Among many cryptocurrencies, BitMine firmly chooses Ethereum, reflecting its deep judgment on the future development of blockchain infrastructure.
● Thomas Lee has publicly stated that Ethereum will become the infrastructure of the financialization and AI era, while the current market price is far below its true potential. With Wall Street's on-chain transformation, Ethereum is expected to become one of the most important macro trends in the next decade.
● Compared to Bitcoin, Ethereum offers more diverse sources of income. Companies can obtain stable returns through staking in Ethereum's proof-of-stake mechanism.
● As Thomas Lee said: "This essentially allows these companies to operate like infrastructure operators, having stable sources of income."
● The network effect of Ethereum is also its core advantage. Ethereum has become the core infrastructure of digital finance, hosting the vast majority of DeFi applications, NFT transactions, and enterprise-level blockchain applications. As traditional financial institutions accelerate their "on-chain" efforts, the network value of Ethereum will continue to grow.
4. Strategic Execution: Maximizing ETH Holdings per Share
● BitMine's core business logic is simple yet powerful—maximize ETH holdings per share. In a digital asset bull market, the density of holdings determines the amplification of shareholder returns, and this metric has replaced traditional earnings per share as a key performance indicator.
The company continuously enhances the ETH content per share through various strategies:
● Premium issuance strategy is one of the core means. When the stock price is at a premium relative to the net asset value of ETH, the company will issue new shares.
For example, BitMine's latest plan is to raise $20 billion to purchase ETH—assuming the net asset value per share is $100 but the stock price is $120, the company issues shares to obtain $120 in cash to purchase an equivalent amount of ETH, potentially increasing the per-share ETH value from $100 to about $110, achieving value enhancement.
● Innovation in derivative tools is another avenue. The company issues convertible bonds and other equity-linked securities, obtaining additional capital through the monetization of the dual volatility of stocks and ETH.
● Additionally, reinvestment of staking income also provides continuous growth momentum. Ethereum's PoS mechanism offers BitMine income opportunities that Bitcoin DAT companies do not possess.
5. Market Impact: Leading the Corporate Ethereum Hoarding Trend
BitMine's success is prompting imitation. More and more listed companies are beginning to view Ethereum as a core reserve asset.
● Currently, large enterprises hold approximately $7.6 billion in ETH and plan to increase it to $30.4 billion—about three times the current amount.
In this corporate hoarding trend, several companies stand out:
● SharpLink Gaming holds 521,939 ETH, and since shifting to Ethereum reserves, its stock price has risen by 400%, with plans to invest up to $5 billion in the future.
● BTCS owns 70,000 ETH and plans to further increase its holdings through $2 billion in financing.
● Bit Digital holds over 120,000 ETH after a $67 million capital increase, fully transforming into an Ethereum asset management company.
● The large-scale accumulation of ETH by enterprises is profoundly changing the market supply and demand structure. According to Crypto Rover data, as of June 20, 2025, 38 corporate entities have increased their Ethereum strategic reserves to over $3 billion.
This large-scale accumulation by institutions is seen as a strong bullish signal for the crypto market in 2025.
6. Challenges and Risks: Uncertainties on the Path Forward
Although BitMine's strategy has achieved significant results so far, the road ahead is not without challenges.
● Price volatility risk is one of the biggest challenges. Notable gold supporter Peter Schiff has predicted that Ethereum will fall below $3,000, pointing out that it has dropped nearly 40% from its August peak, erasing all gains for 2025.
● Regulatory uncertainty is also a potential risk. As companies hold large amounts of crypto assets, regulators may strengthen oversight and restrictions on such activities.
● Additionally, technological risks cannot be ignored. Despite continuous upgrades to the Ethereum network, its ecosystem still faces challenges related to scalability and security.
Despite these risks, BitMine's billionaire supporters—Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, Cathie Wood's ARK Invest, and Tom Lee—continue to show strong confidence, providing ongoing capital and credibility support for the company's strategy.
On October 19, 2025, market data showed that BitMine not only did not reduce its holdings during the "October 11 crash," but instead aggressively bought in, accumulating nearly 380,000 ETH, valued at approximately $1.48 billion. While many investors were panic selling, BitMine increased its position against the trend.
In the Texas mining facility, machines immersed in cooling liquid continue to operate day and night, while the screen displaying ETH holdings has quietly surpassed 1.2 million. This marks a transformation from industrial capital to financial capital; BitMine is no longer just a mining company, but is becoming a core hub for institutional funds flowing into the Ethereum ecosystem.
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