coindesk.com
Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), the largest ether-focused treasury firm, bought 60,999 ether ($ETH) last week as it continues to build up its holdings of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
In token terms, the purchase was the company's biggest this year, though only a small increase from the previous week's 60,976 $ETH haul.
The latest purchase, worth nearly $140 million at current prices, lifted Bitmine’s $ETH holdings to 4,595,562 tokens, valued at more than $10 billion, according to a Monday update from the company.
The firm maintained a $1.2 billion cash holding, even though it increased its stake in Worldcoin-focused (WLD) treasury firm Eightco (ORBS) last week alongside its $ETH purchase.
Bitmine's stock was nearly 9% higher pre-market as crypto prices rebounded over the weekend. $ETH has advanced 8.4% over the past 24 hours.
The firm has steadily added to its treasury throughout the recent market downturn, even as unrealized losses on its position are estimated at around $6.5 billion, according to data from DropsTab.
Chairman Thomas "Tom" Lee said recent geopolitical tensions have not weighed on crypto prices as much as other assets.
"Since the start of the Iran war, crypto prices have outperformed and Ethereum has outperformed the S&P 500 by 2,450 basis points," Lee said in a statement. "In our view, higher oil is triggering concerns of slowing growth for the global economy. And when investors worry about growth, they buy 'growth stocks' including MAG7, software and crypto."
Bitmine continues to generate income from staking a large share of its ether holdings. The firm said it now earns about $180 million in annualized revenue from staking 3.04 million $ETH, with potential staking revenue reaching $272 million once more of its tokens are locked to earn yield.
Read more: Ethereum Foundation sells 5,000 ether to Tom Lee's BitMine in $10.2 million deal