The firm plans to accumulate 5% of Ethereum’s total supply and currently holds 600,000 ETH worth over $2.2 billion. While BitMine’s previous ETH treasury announcement sparked a 3,000% stock rally, the recent volatility suggests that there is still some investor skepticism over execution and long-term value. Meanwhile, the Ethereum treasury race is intensifying. SharpLink Gaming, led by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, is aggressively accumulating ETH on a per-share basis, raising capital daily and staking its reserves to grow its treasury. This institutional competition contributed to Ethereum’s 110% price rally over the past three months, thanks to its rising role as financial infrastructure.
BitMine Shares Drop Hard
BitMine Immersion Technologies experienced a sharp decline in its share price of close to 27% despite efforts to boost investor confidence through a new initiative titled “The Chairman’s Message,” led by FundStrat’s Tom Lee. The company introduced the monthly series to provide updates on BitMine’s broader Ethereum strategy, with Lee sharing more details about a long-term plan to hold 5% of Ethereum’s total supply and positioning the firm as a major validator network based entirely in the United States.
In the inaugural presentation, Lee mentioned BitMine’s current holdings of 600,000 Ethereum—which is valued at over $2.2 billion—and talked about the company’s commitment to staking and participating in Ethereum governance. He also referenced a slide shared on X suggesting that Ethereum could reach an implied valuation of $60,000, though the source of this estimate was not revealed.
(Source: Bitmine)
Despite these very ambitious projections, BitMine’s stock (BMNR) dropped by more than 11% during the trading day to $35.11 and tumbled an additional 15% in after-hours trading.
Bitmine share price over the past 24 hours (Source: Google Finance)
This downturn was a stark contrast to BitMine’s performance earlier in July when its share price surged over 3,000% after the announcement of its Ethereum treasury strategy, peaking at a yearly high of $135. The volatile market reaction shed some light on the skepticism among investors about execution and long-term value, which is an issue that was previously flagged by Vincent Liu of Kronos Research, who pointed out the importance of strategic clarity and liquidity protection in treasury rollouts.
On the other hand, many people in the industry are still optimistic about Ethereum treasury initiatives. David Grider of Finality Capital said on X that the rising number of ETH treasury companies could drive Ethereum’s price upward, similar to how Strategy’s Bitcoin strategy influenced BTC markets.
(Source: David Grider)
Grider also revealed that Finality Capital holds a stake in BitMine. Some other corporate players increasing their Ethereum exposure include Bit Digital with over 100,000 ETH, and Blockchain Technology Consensus Solutions, which recently expanded its holdings to 29,122 ETH after a $62.4 million funding round.
Ray Youssef, CEO of finance app NoOnes, shared this bullish sentiment, and stated that corporations increasingly see Ethereum as vital infrastructure. This perception seems to be fueling a growing wave of ETH-focused corporate treasuries, though BitMine’s recent stock performance suggests that market conviction still hinges on consistent execution and clear communication.
Ethereum War Chest Race Heats Up
Joe Lubin, one of Ethereum’s co-founders and the CEO of blockchain infrastructure firm Consensys, is doubling down on SharpLink Gaming’s aggressive Ethereum treasury strategy. In a recent interview with Bloomberg Television, Lubin, who also serves as SharpLink’s chairman, declared that the company is racing to accumulate Ethereum faster than any other project on a per-share basis.
He believes that SharpLink will be able to outpace not only other Ethereum-focused firms but also Bitcoin-centric treasuries in terms of ETH acquired per fully diluted share.
To support this ambition, SharpLink is raising capital daily through at-the-market facilities, using the funds to boost its ETH reserves. Simultaneously, the firm is staking its existing Ethereum holdings to earn yield, compounding its treasury position over time.
Lubin explained that while the company is aggressive in accumulation, it is still quite conservative in its financial approach, as it is currently operating with zero leverage. However, SharpLink is exploring the use of a convertible note offering—similar to what Strategy used to grow its Bitcoin holdings—to potentially accelerate its ETH purchases, though Lubin stressed the importance of maintaining prudent risk management.
SharpLink is in direct competition with BitMine Immersion Technologies, which is currently the largest corporate holder of Ethereum, with 566,800 ETH worth around $2.13 billion. SharpLink comes in second with 360,800 ETH valued at $1.35 billion, according to StrategicETHReserve data.
The Ethereum Foundation, The Ether Machine, and PulseChain also rank among the top five ETH treasuries, while Coinbase, Bit Digital, and Golem Foundation each hold over 100,000 ETH.
This emerging ETH treasury race is impacting the market. Ethereum climbed 110% in the past three months to reach $3,800. This means that it outperformed Bitcoin and Solana during the same period. Analysts like Wilson Ye have pointed to this competition as institutional FOMO playing out at scale, and called it a clear sign that Ethereum is evolving into foundational infrastructure for the future of finance.
ETH’s price action over the past 3 months (Source: CoinGecko)