Key Takeaways
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BitMine now holds 3% of all ETH, after adding nearly 70,000 ETH in a week.
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Tom Lee’s “Alchemy of 5%” target could unlock major staking revenue.
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The large accumulation raises questions around centralization.
BitMine, the digital-asset treasury company chaired by Fundstrat’s Thomas “Tom” Lee, said it now holds 3% of the total Ethereum supply.
As BitMine’s holdings grow, questions are being raised about what large-scale corporate accumulation means for Ethereum’s decentralization and future.
Lee said BitMine added 69,822 ETH over the past week alone, lifting its share of the Ethereum network to 3%.
“BitMine now has 3% of the ETH supply,” he wrote on X. “Two-thirds on the way to the ‘Alchemy of 5%.’”
The company reported on Monday that it holds $11.2 billion in combined crypto, cash, and “moonshot” equity stakes.
Its holdings include:
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3,629,701 ETH valued at $2,840 per token
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192 Bitcoin (BTC)
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$38 million stake in Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: ORBS)
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$800 million in unencumbered cash
BitMine’s accumulation places it ahead of all other corporate ETH treasuries.
Only MicroStrategy tops its overall crypto holdings, with 649,870 BTC valued at $57 billion.
BitMine is pursuing what Lee has dubbed “The Alchemy of 5%,” a target of holding 5% of the total Ethereum supply.
Reaching that threshold could accelerate two major developments for the firm: staking revenue and deeper integration with institutional finance.
Lee recently told Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood that BitMine will launch a company-run staking solution “very soon.”
Once operational, he said, BitMine could earn a 2.79% pre-tax yield on its ETH positions, potentially placing it among the 800 most profitable publicly traded U.S. firms.
Staking would allow BitMine to convert a large portion of its ETH reserves from idle assets into a recurring revenue stream.
Despite its aggressive accumulation strategy, Lee dismissed concerns that BitMine could centralize influence over the network as it approaches its 5% goal.
Lee cited internal research and discussions with analysts at Fundstrat and Standard Chartered, suggesting that ownership levels up to 10% would not threaten Ethereum’s decentralization.
“…because if you think about even in any competitive world, if someone has 10% of a system, they aren’t in control of it,” he said.
According to a recent Bloomberg report, Lee still believes that Bitcoin will rebound to between $150,000 and $200,000 by the end of January.
In a recent CNBC interview, he stated that pressure on MicroStrategy (MSTR) may stem from the stock’s growing use as a proxy for hedging cryptocurrency risk.