“Tom Lee’s publicly traded miner and treasury firm said it now controls more than 3% of ether’s total supply and is accelerating staking plans.”, — write: www.coindesk.com
The firm in a Monday press release said the holdings make it the world’s largest publicly owned ether treasury and place it second globally among corporate crypto treasuries, behind bitcoin-only Strategy (MSTR).
As of Dec. 28, Bitmine said it held 4,110,525 ETH, along with 192 bitcoins, a $23 million stake in Eightco Holdings and $1 billion in cash.
The ether position represents about 3.41% of the network’s circulating supply of roughly 120.7 million ETH, putting the company about two-thirds of the way toward what it calls its “alchemy of 5%” target.
“We continue to be the largest ‘fresh money’ buyer of ETH in the world,” said Thomas Lee, chairman of Bitminee.
“Year-end tax-loss related selling is pushing down crypto and crypto equity prices and this effect tends to be the greatest from 12/26 to 12/30, so we are navigating markets with this in mind,” he added.
Bitmine said it has currently staked 408,627 ETH, worth about $1.2 billion, and is working with three staking providers as it prepares to launch its Made in America Validator Network, or MAVAN, in early 2026.
Using the current composite Ethereum staking rate of 2.81%, Lee estimated that fully staking the company’s ether holdings could generate roughly $374 million in annual staking revenue.
The company also released a special chairman’s message ahead of its annual shareholder meeting on Jan. 15, 2026, at the Wynn Las Vegas, urging investors to vote in favor of four proposals tied to its long-term strategy.
Ether was trading little-changed over the past 24 hours around $2,950 at publication time.
Read more: Most Influential: Tom Lee
L1 tokens broadly underperformed in 2025 despite a backdrop of regulatory and institutional gains. Explore the key trends defining ten major blockchains below.
This report analyzes the structural decoupling between network usage and token performance. We examine 10 major blockchain ecosystems, exploring protocol versus application revenues, key ecosystem narratives, mechanics driving institutional adoption, and the trends to watch as we head into 2026.
View Full Report
Cantor Fitzgerald sees early signs of a new crypto winter, but one that’s less chaotic, more institutional, and increasingly defined by DeFi, tokenization and regulatory clarity.
- Cantor Fitzgerald said crypto may be entering a new downturn, but sees rising institutional adoption.
- Real-world asset tokenization and DEX trading are growing despite softening bitcoin prices, a new report says.
- Institutional investors, not retail traders, are now driving crypto trends, reshaping market dynamics.
Read full story