Bitcoin BTC/USD maximalists typically call their coin "digital gold." But Tom Lee, Fundstrat co-founder and now chairman of Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc BMNR, is maximizing the potential of a different digital asset — Ethereum ETH/USD.
Lee’s company, in just 35 days, has quietly built the largest corporate Ethereum ETH/USD treasury in the world—$5.26 billion worth of ETH.
Bitmine, once a traditional Bitcoin miner, flipped the script by pausing BTC mining and going all-in on Ethereum. Backed by Peter Thiel, the firm scooped up 833,137 ETH at an average price of $3,492 per coin. It didn't stop there—Lee doubled down during a price crash, adding another $130 million worth of Ethereum.
Related: Bitcoin Slides As Whales Take Profits; Ethereum, Dogecoin Also Slip: Analyst Rules Out Major ETH Correction Before It Hits $5,000
The haul now totals 1.174 million ETH, making BitMine the third-largest public crypto treasury globally, behind only Strategy Inc MSTR (aka MicroStrategy) and MARA Holdings Inc MARA (aka Marathon Digital).
That kind of conviction has caught Wall Street's eye. Ethereum recently traded near $3,679, up 40% over the past month, even while still 24% below its 2021 high. BMNR has rocketed over 725% year-to-date, peaking at $135 in July before settling near $58. For a company once synonymous with Bitcoin mining, the pivot has been nothing short of explosive.
For Lee, who has made a career out of contrarian calls, the message is clear: Ethereum's utility—staking rewards, smart contracts, and scaling—outweighs Bitcoin's static "digital gold" narrative. Institutional investors may be starting to agree. As Lee himself argues, ETH is fast becoming a Wall Street favorite, offering yield and real-world functionality that Bitcoin can't match.
Whether Ethereum can overtake Bitcoin in market dominance remains an open question. Indeed, it has a long way to go. Between Aug. 11–15, Ethereum spot ETFs saw a record $2.85 billion inflow—the largest weekly gain ever.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin spot ETFs drew $548 million.
U.S.-listed ETH ETFs now hold $28.15 billion (5.34% of ETH's market cap), compared with Bitcoin's $151.98 billion (6.54% of BTC's market cap).
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