After Ethereum fell below $1,800, corporate cryptocurrency holding strategies came under renewed pressure. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, one of the largest publicly traded companies holding ETH, saw its Ethereum reserves shrink significantly, with unrealized losses approaching $8.9 billion.
The holdings reached 5.4 million units.
Over a period of about a year, Bitmine has accumulated more than 5.4 million ETH, representing approximately 4.5% of the circulating supply of Ethereum. At current prices, this holding is worth approximately $10 billion. According to data compiled by DropsTab, the company's unrealized losses have widened to approximately $8.9 billion.
ETH returns to near its February lows
The recent sell-off has caused ETH to retest its February lows. Since early May, ETH has fallen by more than 20%. At that time, Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat and chairman of Bitmine, said that the “mini winter” in the crypto market might be over.
After the price drop, the market has begun to re-examine the corporate crypto treasury model. In the past few years, many companies have tried to replicate Strategy's path: raising funds through public markets and then investing the funds in crypto assets such as Bitcoin or Ethereum to amplify asset exposure.
Enterprise encrypted treasuries face another test
As crypto assets weaken, this model is facing increasing pressure. Some treasury-style companies have seen their share prices fall below their underlying holding value, impacting their fundraising capabilities. Strategy also previously disclosed its first Bitcoin sale since 2022, sparking discussions about its subsequent funding arrangements.
However, Bitmine's structure is not entirely the same as some of its peers. The report mentions that the company primarily relies on equity financing rather than debt financing to purchase ETH, thus experiencing relatively less interest expense and leverage repayment pressure.
Pledged income is still providing cash flow.
In addition to holding cryptocurrency, Bitmine also generates revenue through ETH staking and its staking service, MAVAN. The company stated that it has staked over 4.7 million ETH, representing approximately 87% of its total holdings. The company previously estimated its staking business to generate approximately $276 million in annualized revenue.
Tom Lee's long-term outlook on ETH remains unchanged. Speaking at the Proof of Talk conference in Paris this week, he stated that ETH could potentially reach $250,000 in the future, driven by asset tokenization, AI-driven trading, and corporate staking.
In the short term, however, the market is more focused on actual price performance. ETH has returned to near the range seen during the February sell-off, causing significant unrealized losses for Bitmine's large holdings. This discrepancy demonstrates a considerable gap between the long-term narrative and current market pricing.
