Bitmine's Tom Lee ties ether strength to Clarity Act odds as treasury nears 5% of Ethereum's total supply

Bitmine Immersion Technologies acquired 42,197 ether (ETH) worth an estimated $74 million last week, lifting its treasury to over 5.7 million ETH, or 4.8% of the token's circulating supply.

The Norwalk, Connecticut-based company disclosed total crypto and cash holdings of $11.1 billion as of June 28, comprising an ether stake valued at $1,800 per ether, 206 bitcoin, $527 million in cash and marketable securities, and equity positions in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings, according to a statement Monday.

Chairman Tom Lee made an argument tying ether's recent gains against bitcoin to shifting regulatory sentiment, citing prediction-market pricing that put the Clarity Act's passage at about 50% odds, the highest in two weeks.

"We believe regulatory clarity is an important milestone, enabling crypto, particularly smart contract platforms like Ethereum, to benefit," he said.

Ether traded near $1,770 at publication, up 10% in the past month compared to bitcoin’s barely 2% rise in the same time, The Block’s price page shows.

The company has also staked 4,879,157 ETH through MAVAN, its Made in America Validator Network, representing about 85% of its total ether. Bitmine's own validators generated a seven-day annualized yield of 2.68%, Lee said. At full deployment across MAVAN and its staking partners, the company projects annualized staking rewards of $277 million, according to the release. Current annualized staking revenue runs at $235 million.

Bitmine holds the largest corporate Ethereum treasury and ranks second among all crypto treasuries, behind Strategy, which holds 847,363 bitcoin. Throughout last week, Strategy sold 3,588 BTC for $216 million.

BMNR entered the Russell 1000 large-cap index on June 26, a move Lee expects will broaden its institutional shareholder base.

Shares were up over 3% following the July 6 disclosure, according to The Block’s stock page.

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