- Bitmine increased its Ethereum holdings to over 4.42 million with a major purchase last week, totalling around $100 million.
- Meanwhile, Vitalik Buterin has already sold 10,723 ETH worth roughly $21 million since the start of the month.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), a public digital asset treasury (DAT) company, revealed that it has capitalized on the ongoing crypto price dips by making major purchases of Ethereum (ETH). On Monday, it announced raising its treasury to over 4.42 million ETH.
Bitmine’s Latest Ethereum Acquisition
According to a press release, Bitmine bought 51,162 ETH last week. It didn’t indicate the prices at which it acquired the asset, but it should be somewhere between $97 million and $102 million, as the token traded in the $1,900 to $2,000 range during the period.
The latest development increases Bitmine’s holdings to 4,422,659 ETH, equivalent to $8.66 billion, as the token traded at $1,958 per ETH at the time of the report. It adds to the company’s portfolio, consisting of 193 Bitcoin (BTC), a $200 million stake in Beast Industries, a $17 million stake in Eightco Holdings (ORBS), and a cash reserve of $691 million.
Interestingly, Bitmine already holds 3.66% of Ether’s 120.7 million circulating supply, edging the figures closer to its “Alchemy of 5%” target.
Bitmine’s Staked Ether
Bitmine staked 3,040,483 ETH, worth $6 billion at the time of the release, to capitalize on the yield opportunities of Ethereum via staking partners. Tom Lee, the company’s Chairman, estimated that their staked Ether could earn $249 million annually at a 7-day rate of 2.89%.
To date, Bitmine has raised $171 million in annualized staking revenue. Lee expects the company to boost its staking opportunities as soon as it completes its solution known as The Made in America VAlidator Network (MAVAN) this year.
Vitalik Buterin Selling Ethereum
Bitmine’s aggressive ETH accumulation comes amid the recent token sales of Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum. He has been notably offloading his founder equity allocation at a rapid pace this month, sparking concerns about his possible exit from the network as the market treads across an overly bearish sentiment.
Arkham data shows that Buterin has sold 10,723 ETH worth over $21 million at an average of roughly $2,027 per token since February 2. The last 3,765 ETH sale worth more than $7 million occurred in the last three days leading to Tuesday, coinciding with Ether’s drop to nearly $1,800 per token.
However, Buterin clarified that his sale was neither due to the panic plaguing the crypto market nor loss of confidence. On the contrary, he intends to use the proceeds to accelerate the chain’s integrity and economy through open-source and security-focused projects.
