Ethereum accumulation strategy shifts toward yield generation
Bitmine Immersion Technologies acquired 111,942 ETH last week and staked $4.7 million worth of Ether from its holdings, projecting $276 million in annualized staking revenues, according to a holdings update posted May 26.
The purchase marks a continuation of Bitmine’s steady accumulation strategy. “We continue to steadily acquire ETH, with Bitmine now owning nearly 5.4 million ETH tokens,” Tom Lee, Chairman of Bitmine, said in the update. At a price of $2,134 per token on May 26, the company’s Ether holdings represent approximately $11.5 billion of its $12.3 billion total crypto portfolio.
Bitmine follows a business model similar to Strategy, a Bitcoin treasury company led by Michael Saylor, which accumulates crypto regardless of market conditions. Lee has previously argued that steep pullbacks in ETH prices represent buying opportunities rather than warning signs. He described the $2,200 price level as an attractive buying opportunity.
The latest purchase occurred after Bitmine slowed its buying pace earlier in May, following three consecutive weeks of acquiring 100,000+ ETH weekly. Ether traded between $2,025 and $2,147 over the seven days preceding the May 26 update, with the token priced at $2,070 at article time. The current price remains 58% below Ether’s all-time high of $4,946, set in August 2025.
Bitmine’s goal is to own 5% of Ether’s circulating supply. With 120.7 million ETH in circulation, the company would need 644,596 ETH to reach that threshold. At current holdings, Bitmine controls approximately 4.5% of the supply.
Staking pressure mounts for treasury firms
The shift toward staking reflects mounting pressure on crypto treasury companies to generate income through yield methods. Staking infrastructure provider Everstake reports that ETH treasury companies face growing expectations to monetize holdings beyond simple accumulation.
Lee believes a crypto supercycle is coming, driven by Wall Street’s growing interest in tokenization and the rise of AI-powered agents. The appeal of holding Ether as a public company strategy has been dulled by the growing popularity of spot crypto exchange-traded funds, which offer retail investors direct exposure without the treasury premium.
Bitmine’s staking move comes as 39 million ETH sits in staked supply, representing 32% of total Ether. The entry queue holds 3.3 million ETH, while the exit queue contains 234,368 ETH, indicating sustained demand for staking participation despite volatile market conditions.
The $276 million annualized staking revenue projection assumes consistent yield rates on the staked portion of Bitmine’s holdings. The company did not disclose the specific staking mechanism or yield generation method beyond the staking revenues figure.
