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BitMine Immersion Technologies just threw out its Bitcoin playbook. The Las Vegas mining company raised $250 million Monday to build an Ethereum (ETH) treasury, bringing on Wall Street crypto bull Thomas Lee as chairman to lead the pivot.
The private placement attracted heavyweight investors led by MOZAYYX, including Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, Kraken, Galaxy Digital, and Republic. The deal closes July 3.
BitMine will issue 55.5 million shares at $4.50 each, using every dollar to buy Ethereum. The move transforms ETH into the company’s primary reserve asset, abandoning its Bitcoin-focused past.
Lee’s appointment signals serious institutional backing. The Fundstrat founder has spent years advocating crypto adoption on Wall Street. “This transaction includes the highest quality investors across trad-fi and crypto venture capital, properly reflecting the rapid and continued convergence of traditional financial services and crypto,” Lee said.
His strategy centers on Ethereum’s dominance in the stablecoin transactions market. Lee called stablecoins “the ‘ChatGPT’ of crypto” for their rapid adoption across financial services.
“Ethereum is the blockchain where the majority of stablecoin payments are transacted and thus, ETH should benefit from this growth,” he explained.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently projected stablecoin markets could expand from $250 billion today to $2 trillion. Lee wants BitMine positioned to capture that growth.
This represents a dramatic shift for the company. BitMine currently holds 154 Bitcoin worth $17 million, ranking 62nd among corporate holders. Now it’s chasing Ethereum’s biggest players.
SharpLink Gaming leads publicly traded companies with 188,478 ETH. The Ethereum Foundation holds 213,072 ETH as the largest institutional holder.
CEO Jonathan Bates said the funding will “accelerate BitMine’s treasury holdings” by more than 16 times current levels. The company made its first Ethereum purchase on June 9.
BitMine selected FalconX, Kraken, and Galaxy Digital for trading and liquidity. BitGo and Fidelity Digital will provide custody services.
Markets responded enthusiastically. BitMine’s stock rocketed 511% from $4.26 to $26.06, lifting the market cap from under $31 million to approximately $159 million.
Lee introduced “ETH per share” as BitMine’s new performance metric, tracking how effectively the company grows holdings relative to outstanding shares.
BitMine also plans to participate in staking and decentralized finance protocols, generating additional revenue streams. “By having a direct ETH treasury position, the company has access to native protocol-level activities,” BitMine stated.
The move reflects growing corporate interest in Ethereum’s capabilities beyond Bitcoin’s store-of-value proposition. While most companies focus on Bitcoin accumulation, BitMine joins a smaller group exploring Ethereum’s revenue opportunities.
Lee’s involvement adds credibility to corporate Ethereum adoption. His Wall Street background could influence other traditional finance players considering similar strategies.
BitMine’s pivot represents one of the most aggressive corporate crypto transformations yet attempted by a publicly traded firm.
