Tom Lee's Ethereum treasury firm BitMine approves $1 billion stock repurchase program as its holdings reach 625,000 ETH

Bitcoin miner turned Ethereum treasury company BitMine Immersion Technologies announced Tuesday that its board of directors has approved a stock buyback program of up to $1 billion in outstanding common shares.

BitMine said it has 121,739,533 fully diluted common shares outstanding and a combined cash and crypto NAV per share of $22.76.

The open-ended buyback program allows the company to repurchase shares periodically through market or negotiated transactions, BitMine said in a statement, amid its goal to acquire and stake 5% of Ethereum's token supply.

"In our road to achieving 'the alchemy of 5%' of ETH, there may be times when the best expected return of our capital is to acquire our own shares," BitMine Chair and Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee explained in the release. 

Ethereum holdings reach 625,000 ETH

As of July 28 at 10:45 p.m. ET, BitMine said it holds 625,000 ETH ($2.4 billion) and 192 BTC ($22.8 million), with over $401.4 million in unencumbered cash. Last week, the firm doubled its ether holdings to 566,776  ETH, The Block previously reported.

While BitMine continues operations as a bitcoin miner and provider of mining services, ETH is now its treasury priority, placing it as a leading publicly-listed Ethereum accumulation company alongside firms like SharpLink, Bit Digital, and BTCS.

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Earlier this month, Peter Thiel-linked entities acquired a 9.1% stake in BitMine, according to a 13G form filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.