decrypt.co
Publicly traded Ethereum treasury company BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) added more than $294 million in $ETH in the last week, as its Chairman Tom Lee remained bullish on a year-end run for Bitcoin and Ethereum, even as the company's share price has fallen in recent weeks.
The firm acquired another 82,353 $ETH, bringing its balance sheet totals to 3,395,422 Ethereum or more than 2.8% of the circulating Ethereum supply which it has acquired at an average price of $3,909.
With $ETH changing hands at $3,617, down more than 6% over the past 24 hours, the firm's investment has declined. BMNR shares were off more than 8% on Monday and have fallen about 25% over the past month.
Still, Lee is predicting an end-of-year rally.
“The market is consolidating,” said Lee on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “But if I look at fundamentals, like Ethereum, stablecoin volume has been exploding, application revenues are at all-time highs…right now fundamentals are leading price in crypto.”
Lee pointed to crypto’s recent record-breaking $19 billion liquidation event as a reset point for the market, calling it a "miniature rupture” around which the market is consolidating.
“I think eventually we consolidate, and rally into year end,” he said, calling a potential move to $150,000 or $200,000 for Bitcoin and $7,000 for Ethereum before the calendar turns.
An explosive move up for $ETH would significantly boost BitMine’s industry leading Ethereum treasury. At the time of writing, the firm holds more than $12.5 billion worth of $ETH, making it the second largest crypto treasury, only trailing Bitcoin behemoth and digital asset treasury pioneer, Strategy, which holds more than $69 billion worth of Bitcoin.
The firm also holds 192 Bitcoin worth around $20 million, a $62 million stake in EightCo Holdings (ORBS), and around $389 million in unencumbered cash.
In a Myriad prediction market, 95% of respondents believe BitMine will hold more $ETH than the second largest Ethereum treasury, SharpLine Gaming at the end of the year. Myriad is a unit of Dastan, the parent company of an editorially independent Decrypt.