“We increased our equity buyback as we view the rising $ETH/BTC ratio, despite the falling odds of passage of the Clarity Act in 2026, as a sign crypto prices are strengthening,” Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee said in a statement. “In fact, this ratio is now at a 3-month high at 0.3000, which we believe bodes well for future strengthening of $ETH prices," he added. (Disclosure: Tom Lee is an investor in Dastan, Decrypt’s parent company.)
According to Lee, Bitmine also repurchased 6.1 million shares over the past week under its previously authorized $4 billion buyback program, bringing total repurchases since July 1 to 11.6 million shares, adding that the company views the strengthening $ETH-to-Bitcoin ratio as a positive sign for Ethereum and believes the cryptocurrency could next challenge the $2,000 and $2,500 price levels. $ETH is currently trading for around $1,900 at a $232 billion market cap.
The company said 4.9 million $ETH is currently staked through its Made in America Validator Network, or MAVAN, which was launched in March to support institutional staking. Bitmine said it projects annualized staking rewards of about $299 million once all of its $ETH is staked through the platform and its partners.
The announcement is the latest in Bitmine's rapid expansion under Lee.
In April, the company surpassed 5 million $ETH. In May, Lee said Bitmine's inclusion in the Russell 1000 Index could broaden its institutional investor base as its holdings reached roughly 4.3% of Ethereum's circulating supply. In June, the company completed a preferred stock offering that raised nearly $274 million to fund additional Ethereum purchases, infrastructure, and share buybacks while expanding its MAVAN staking platform. Earlier this month, Bitmine added another $73 million worth of $ETH, lifting its holdings above 5.74 million $ETH ahead of Monday's latest purchase.
The news comes as a growing number of public companies—including Sharplink, Bit Digital, and BitMine—have shifted toward Ethereum treasury strategies, mirroring Strategy's longtime Bitcoin treasury playbook.