BitMine Immersion Technologies, chaired by Tom Lee of Fundstrat, continues to strengthen its bet on Ethereum. According to on-chain observers, on Tuesday the company acquired 67,111 ETH worth approximately $144.8–145 million, reportedly through Kraken. This transaction became another major step in BitMine’s long-term strategy of accumulating Ether as its primary corporate reserve asset.
The significance of this purchase is not only in its size, but also in its market timing. The company is making aggressive acquisitions at a moment when Ethereum is gradually recovering after months of pressure and once again moving toward key psychological levels. This shows that BitMine views the current market phase as an opportunity to build its position rather than as a reason for caution.
Against the backdrop of growing interest in corporate crypto reserves, BitMine’s actions look especially notable. While strategies of this kind were previously associated mostly with Bitcoin, more attention is now shifting to a model in which Ethereum becomes not just a store-of-value asset, but also a reserve, working capital, and a source of yield at the same time.
BitMine Remains the Largest Corporate ETH Holder
Following this transaction, BitMine retains its status as the largest known corporate holder of ETH. According to the company’s own statement, as of March 22, 2026, its balance stood at 4,660,903 ETH, which is equivalent to approximately 3.86% of Ethereum’s current circulating supply of around 120.7 million ETH.
This is an extremely significant amount for a single company. When one publicly visible player controls nearly four percent of the circulating supply of such a major asset as Ethereum, it inevitably begins to affect how the market perceives that asset. A holding of this scale means BitMine can no longer be seen as just one participant in the ecosystem — it is becoming a factor that influences the broader discussion around ETH distribution and the role of institutional capital within the Ethereum network.
In addition, such a large reserve increases investor focus on the company’s treasury strategy. The market begins to evaluate BitMine not only by its operating business, but also by how effectively it manages such a substantial ETH position, how it structures its staking, what monetization model it chooses, and how it plans to build infrastructure around these assets.
The Company Is Betting Not Only on ETH Appreciation, but Also on Staking
Another important point is that BitMine is not simply holding ETH on its balance sheet — it is actively putting it to work through staking. The company reported that as of March 23, 2026, it had 3,142,643 ETH staked, worth around $6.5 billion at an estimated price of $2,072 per ETH. This shows that the company is betting not only on the potential appreciation of the asset, but also on using it as a tool for generating continuous additional yield.
This approach fundamentally distinguishes Ethereum from many other digital assets in the eyes of corporate holders. Under the traditional reserve model, a company simply buys an asset and waits for it to appreciate. In Ethereum’s case, however, the reserve can be made productive. Staking allows the asset not to sit passively on the balance sheet, but to participate in the network economy while also generating rewards.
For BitMine itself, this creates a two-layer investment logic. On the one hand, the company gains potential upside from Ethereum price appreciation. On the other hand, it builds an income stream through staking, making the strategy more resilient and less dependent solely on market revaluation of the asset.
Staking Could Generate Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Per Year
According to BitMine’s estimates, its current staked position already corresponds to approximately $184 million in annual revenue, and if the full position is deployed, that figure could rise to $272 million per year. For the market, this is an important signal: this is no longer just passive crypto asset storage on a balance sheet, but a full-fledged model of corporate use of Ethereum as a yield-generating treasury reserve.
These figures are especially important because they change the perspective on corporate crypto investments. When a company can not only hold a digital asset but also derive a meaningful cash flow from it, the attitude toward that asset becomes far more practical. In this model, Ethereum is seen not simply as a risky speculative instrument, but as a digital asset with its own internal economy and the ability to be partially monetized without selling the core position.
If this model proves effective in practice, BitMine could become an example for other companies considering ETH not only as an asset to accumulate, but also as an asset capable of supporting financial performance through yield generated within the Ethereum network itself.
Tom Lee Believes ETH Is Emerging from a “Mini Crypto Winter”
Tom Lee explained the acceleration of purchases by saying that, in his base-case scenario, Ethereum is in the final stage of a so-called “mini crypto winter”. In other words, BitMine sees the current market phase as a transition period ahead of a potentially stronger ETH recovery. That is why the company has maintained a high pace of purchases for several weeks in a row.
This statement matters because it reflects not only the view of one well-known market participant, but also the logic behind the company’s actions. When management publicly says it sees the end of an extended weak period, it means current purchases are being viewed as accumulation ahead of a potential new growth phase, rather than as a chaotic response to short-term price fluctuations.
For the market, such comments also help shape a broader narrative. If a major corporate player is consistently buying ETH while framing it as the end of an unfavorable phase, market participants begin to interpret those actions as a signal of confidence in Ethereum’s medium-term prospects.
BitMine’s Goal Is to Reach 5% of Ethereum’s Total Supply
BitMine has also openly stated its long-term goal — to increase its holdings to 5% of Ethereum’s total supply. This is an extremely ambitious target that underscores the scale of its strategy. In addition, the company is relying on its own staking infrastructure, MAVAN, which it sees as one of the key tools for monetizing such a large ETH reserve.
A five-percent target looks especially significant against the size of the holdings it has already accumulated. This is not about symbolic treasury expansion or a marketing gesture, but about a consistent strategy aimed at securing a truly substantial share of the Ethereum ecosystem. Such an objective makes BitMine one of the most aggressive institutional players in this market.
If the company manages to move closer to that level, its role in the industry will become even more prominent. It will be seen not just as a large ETH holder, but as a structure capable of influencing discussions around corporate participation in Ethereum, the development of institutional staking, and the broader interest of public companies in this kind of model.
Ethereum Is Approaching an Important Resistance Level
ETH itself has indeed moved closer to a key psychological threshold. After briefly falling below $2,100 on Tuesday, Ethereum rebounded and is now trading near the $2,200 level. This range is currently seen by traders as an important near-term resistance zone, since a breakout above it could strengthen positive expectations for further price movement.
Round-number price levels like this traditionally play a major role in market psychology. Even if other zones may be more technically important, the $2,200 mark is viewed as a reference point around which short-term expectations are formed. Holding near this level alone can increase interest in ETH, while a confident move above it could become an additional driver of optimism.
Against this backdrop, BitMine’s large purchases are seen as an important supportive signal. They do not guarantee market direction, but they reinforce the impression that Ethereum has demand not only from speculators, but also from strategic corporate investors.
Despite the Recovery, ETH Is Still Far from Its All-Time Highs
At the same time, Ether remains significantly below its historical highs. Despite the current recovery, the asset is still well below the peak levels of the previous cycle. That is why BitMine’s actions look less like a short-term speculative bet on a local rebound and more like a strategic calculation on a longer recovery cycle for Ethereum combined with rising staking income.
This contrast between the current price and previous peaks makes the company’s strategy especially interesting. BitMine is, in effect, showing willingness to buy large amounts of the asset not during all-time-high euphoria, but during a period when the market is still far from its former records. Such an approach is usually typical of players thinking not in terms of weekly moves, but in terms of a longer investment horizon.
For outside observers, this leads to an important conclusion: the company is betting not merely on a technical bounce, but on a more fundamental scenario in which Ethereum can once again strengthen its role as core infrastructure of the crypto market and eventually regain the interest of major pools of capital.
BitMine Is Far Ahead of Other Public ETH Holders
To understand the scale, after BitMine the next largest publicly tracked ETH treasuries are SharpLink Gaming with around 863,021 ETH and The Ether Machine with about 496,712 ETH. This highlights how far ahead BitMine has moved compared with other corporate Ethereum holders, and how dominant its position has become among companies building reserves in ETH.
Such a wide gap between the leader and the next players shows that BitMine is no longer acting merely as one participant in an emerging trend — it is acting as its leader. When one company’s reserve is several times larger than that of other public holders, it begins to set the tone for the entire category and becomes the main benchmark for comparison.
This also increases the attention it receives from analysts, investors, and industry media. Any new purchases, changes in its staking structure, or statements from BitMine’s leadership will increasingly be viewed as signals for the entire niche of corporate ETH treasuries.
Ethereum Is Increasingly Being Viewed as a Corporate Reserve Asset
Looking more broadly, this story matters not only because of Ethereum’s price. It shows that the model of “Ethereum as a corporate reserve asset” is gaining traction. More and more attention is being paid not only to the fact of holding ETH, but also to its capabilities as a financial instrument that can be held on the balance sheet, used for staking, and turned into a source of recurring yield at the same time.
For corporations, this opens up a more complex and more interesting model for working with digital assets. In Ethereum’s case, the reserve is no longer limited to simple storage. It can be used as part of a treasury strategy, as a way to participate in blockchain infrastructure, and as an asset with its own functional utility inside the network.
If this trend continues to develop, Ethereum could take on a very special role on corporate balance sheets — not simply as an alternative digital asset, but as a technologically and financially flexible reserve that combines growth potential, liquidity, and a built-in yield-generation mechanism.
BitMine Is Trying to Become for ETH What Strategy Became for Bitcoin
In this sense, BitMine is trying to become for Ethereum what Strategy became for Bitcoin, but with the added advantage of protocol-level yield. If the corporate Bitcoin model is primarily built around accumulating and holding the asset, then in Ethereum’s case there is one more important element — the ability to generate income through staking participation.
That is what makes the comparison especially compelling. In the Bitcoin model, a company gains exposure to a scarce digital asset and bets on long-term appreciation. In the Ethereum model, that is combined with a working yield mechanism that can support the economics of the strategy even during periods when the asset’s price is not rising sharply.
BitMine is, in effect, shaping a new corporate story for the crypto market. It is no longer just “a company that bought a lot of cryptocurrency,” but a structure that aims to build a full financial model around ETH, including reserves, staking, infrastructure, and a public investment narrative.
Investors Are Watching Not Only ETH, but Also BitMine Shares
Another indirect indicator of market interest is BitMine’s own stock. Investors are watching not only the ETH price, but also public companies that are becoming proxy bets on Ethereum. This means BitMine is gradually being viewed not merely as a standalone company, but as a public vehicle for participating in the potential growth of Ethereum and its surrounding infrastructure.
For some investors, this format is especially convenient. Not everyone is ready to buy and store cryptocurrency directly, work with custody solutions, or build their own digital asset management strategy. But many are willing to invest in a public company whose business model is closely tied to accumulating and using ETH.
That is why the performance of BitMine shares becomes an important additional indicator of market expectations. In practice, the company sits at the intersection of two worlds — the crypto market and the stock market — which makes it even more visible to a broader investor audience.
Why This News Matters for the Market
As a result, the news about another $145 million purchase of ETH matters on several levels at once. On the one hand, it supports a positive backdrop for Ethereum as it moves toward $2,200. On the other hand, it shows that major players continue to strengthen their long-term bet on ETH as a strategic reserve asset. And third, it confirms that the corporate model of accumulating and staking Ethereum is gradually becoming a distinct trend within the crypto market.
This story also matters because it is shaping a new type of market narrative. It is no longer just about whether ETH is rising or falling, but about how major companies are beginning to use Ethereum as a treasury tool, as an infrastructure asset, and as a source of potential yield. That significantly expands the traditional framework through which cryptocurrencies are viewed.
If purchases like this continue and corporate Ethereum holders become more common, the market could gain a new and durable source of demand. In that case, ETH’s importance may be driven not only by retail speculation or trader activity, but also by strategic corporate decisions from companies that view it as part of a long-term financial model.