- Publicly traded company Bitmine announced topping up its Ethereum treasury by 60,976 ETH, bringing its total holdings to over 4.53 million tokens.
- A company advisor believes the crypto winter is on its last legs, but a looming deep correction in the S&P 500 could prolong the bearish trend.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc., a company initially linked to Bitcoin (BTC) mining, continues to position itself as a leader in Ethereum (ETH) among other publicly traded firms. On Monday, the business announced the acquisition of an additional 60,976 ETH for its digital asset treasury (DAT) operations.
Bitmine’s Ethereum Treasury and Other Assets
The recent batch of purchases over the week increases Bitmine’s holdings to 4,534,563 ETH. Valued at around $1,965 per ETH at the time of the disclosure, the portfolio puts its Ethereum holdings at $8.91 billion. The numbers add to its 195 Bitcoin stash, $200 million stake in Eightco Holdings, and $1.2 billion cash reserve.
Meanwhile, the company’s treasury now controls approximately 3.76% of Ethereum’s circulating supply of 120.69 million. It aims to secure up to 5% of the second-largest crypto asset’s supply in line with its “Alchemy of 5%” goal.
Outlook on Ethereum
Bitmine plans to maintain its Ethereum stockpile for the long term. Tom Lee, the institution’s chairman and co-founder of Fundstrat, believes there’s a lot of room for the asset’s appreciation in the long run. He repeatedly emphasized that its utility does not yet reflect its true value.
To optimize returns, Bitmine has also allocated 3,040,483 ETH holdings for staking. This is equivalent to $6 billion at the time of the company’s regulatory reporting, and is estimated to yield $259 million annually once its staking solution under The Made in America VAlidator Network (MAVAN) goes live. For now, it earns $174 million annually from the same activity through staking partners.
An End of the Crypto Winter
Tom DeMark, advisor at Bitmine and founder and CEO of DeMark Analytics, expects Ethereum to remain resilient amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East, which have pushed oil and basic commodity prices higher over the past few weeks.
DeMark considers the trend to be at the last leg of the crypto winter, thereby positioning ETH for a significant rally. He claimed the asset will continue correlating with the trajectories of the S&P 500 in the fall of 1987 and 2011.
A Looming Deeper S&P Correction
A day after Bitmine released an optimistic forecast, however, JPMorgan dropped a bombshell warning that has spooked investors. The investment banking giant’s global head of market intelligence, Andrew Tyler, told Bloomberg that the S&P is at risk of a 10% decline if the war in Iran drags on and oil rises to $100 per barrel.
Tyler’s assessment contrasted with JPMorgan’s take a few days ago, which reassured people that the geopolitical setback may only cause a 5% to 6% drawdown, with the market eventually recovering the losses in a few weeks. In such a scenario, Ethereum maintaining correlation with the index may not be the safety net Bitmine anticipates.
