Bitmine Immersion Technologies said on October 19 that its Bitmine Ethereum treasury reached 6,041,481 ETH as of October 18, after the company added 12,535 ETH during the preceding week. The purchase, valued at roughly $30 million at the reported reference price, lifted the NYSE-listed firm's holdings to about 4.9% of the total Ethereum supply of 122.1 million ETH.

The update matters because it puts the largest corporate holder of Ether within reach of its stated goal of owning 5% of all ETH. Based on the reported supply and treasury figures, Bitmine needs roughly 63,500 more ETH to cross that threshold, a gap Chairman Tom Lee put at about 100,000 ETH in an October 7 video message.

Weekly buying pace

The company has bought ETH every week since launching its ETH treasury strategy on June 30, 2025, according to the announcement. Lee said the firm's record of consistent crypto purchases is unmatched by any public company, and the latest disclosure showed the Bitmine Ethereum treasury kept growing even as prices fell.

Bitmine valued its ETH at $2,365 per token using Coinbase prices, down from $2,544 in the prior weekly update. That decline meant the dollar value of the broader portfolio fell even as the token count rose: total crypto, cash, marketable securities and strategic investments dropped to $15.1 billion on October 18 from $16.2 billion on October 11, a decline of about $1.1 billion over the week.

The Bitmine Ethereum treasury has been growing in token terms even as its value in dollars has shrunk, 24/7 Wall St. reported, estimating the company has been accumulating about 10,000 ETH weekly despite the falling price. The latest 12,535 ETH addition was consistent with that pace.

Staking and the MAVAN platform

Of the 6.04 million ETH on the balance sheet, 5,067,309 ETH, or about 84% of the total, was staked as of October 18, a position valued at $12 billion at the $2,365 reference price. Lee said Bitmine has staked more ETH than any other entity in the world.

The staked position runs through MAVAN, the Made in America VAlidator Network, an institutional-grade staking platform Bitmine launched earlier in 2026. Originally built to support the company's own treasury, MAVAN now also caters to outside institutions, custodians and ecosystem partners looking for staking infrastructure, and a portion of Bitmine's ETH is already staked on the platform.

At the current scale, Bitmine projects annualized staking revenue of $309 million based on the 5.1 million ETH now staked. If the full treasury were staked through MAVAN and its partners, the company estimates the annualized staking reward would reach $369 million, using a 2.58% seven-day BMNR yield.

Portfolio beyond Ether

Beyond ETH, the October 19 disclosure listed 215 Bitcoin, a $180 million stake in Beast Industries, a $74 million position in Eightco Holdings and $582 million in cash and marketable securities. Bitmine describes the Beast Industries and Eightco holdings as "moonshot" investments, and says the Eightco stake makes it one of the only publicly listed equities offering indirect exposure to OpenAI.

The company, which began as a Bitcoin miner, reported net income of $328.2 million for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2025, according to 24/7 Wall St. It joined the Russell 1000 large-cap index in late June 2026, and its Series A Preferred Stock trades on the NYSE under the symbol BMNP.

Bitmine says its holdings make it the number one Ethereum treasury and the second-largest crypto treasury globally, behind Strategy Inc., which reportedly holds 848,250 BTC valued at approximately $74 billion. The company counts ARK's Cathie Wood, Founders Fund, Pantera, Kraken, Galaxy Digital, Bill Miller III and Lee himself among its institutional backers.

Lee ties Bitmine Ethereum treasury buying to bull case

Lee framed the continued accumulation against a recent pullback in risk assets. He said investor risk appetite contracted in recent weeks on worries over AI funding and model safety, escalating US-Iran war activity, anxiety ahead of US midterm elections and rising global bond yields, triggering selloffs in AI, semiconductor and memory stocks and in the Korean and Taiwan markets.

Because crypto is widely held in the US, Korea and Taiwan, de-risking in those regions creates "spillover pressures in crypto markets," Lee said. He added that when fundamentals remain strong while prices fall, such periods have historically offered attractive risk-reward opportunities.

"We believe Bitmine is positioned to outperform the crypto bull market that we expect to be coming, as the company has strengthened its competitive position over the past year in the midst of a crypto winter (bear market)," Lee said. In an October 7 chairman's message titled "Crypto Bull Underway – This Cycle Likely the Largest," he argued a full-blown crypto bull market is underway and that the Bitmine Ethereum treasury could deliver returns beyond those of ETH itself as the 5% target approaches.

Lee has also tied the stock directly to Ether's price, saying Bitmine is 90% correlated to ETH and that a move to $22,000 per ETH would imply $300 to $500 per Bitmine share. He said the company outperformed Ethereum by 48,000 basis points in 2025 and began a stock buyback on July 14, near the lows.

Skeptics and the 5% question

Not all coverage has endorsed the strategy. 24/7 Wall St. noted that Bitmine shares traded at $21.29 before the open on October 20, a 21.6% year-to-date decline that is worse than ETH's 19.3% drop, and that the company is currently valued at about $13 billion, below the $15.1 billion value of its holdings. The outlet also pointed out that Lee's past comment that "history shows crypto prices stage V-shaped recoveries" came from an executive whose position benefits from positive price movement.

Questions also remain about what happens at the 5% line. Lee previously described the threshold as a clear cap at which buying would stop, and a recent weekly release added forward-looking language suggesting management views Bitmine as largely finished buying ETH. The October 19 release did not resolve whether the company will keep purchasing until it reaches 5% or describe the strategy differently, and no completion date has been announced.

For the market, the stakes are concrete: a weekly update showing the Bitmine Ethereum treasury stuck at 6.04 million could signal that Ethereum's largest corporate buyer has stopped adding, 24/7 Wall St. reported. Crypto Briefing said fresh word from Bitmine on whether it plans to keep accumulating or shift strategy could sway market sentiment and prices.

Conclusion

Bitmine's October 19 disclosure confirms the Bitmine Ethereum treasury at 6,041,481 ETH, about 4.9% of supply, with 5,067,309 ETH staked and a total portfolio valued at $15.1 billion. The company remains roughly 63,500 ETH short of its 5% goal, and Lee has said the buying will stop once that level is reached.

The next concrete marker is the company's weekly holdings update, which will show whether Bitmine resumed buying after the 12,535 ETH addition or whether accumulation has paused near the threshold. No date has been announced for reaching 5%.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much Ethereum does Bitmine hold as of October 18, 2026?

Bitmine reported holding 6,041,481 ETH as of October 18, 2026, valued at $2,365 per token using Coinbase prices. The company added 12,535 ETH during the preceding week and describes the position as roughly 4.9% of Ethereum's total supply of 122.1 million ETH.

How close is Bitmine to its 5% ETH supply target?

At 6,041,481 ETH, Bitmine holds about 4.9% of the reported 122.1 million ETH supply, leaving a gap of roughly 63,500 ETH to the 5% threshold. Lee said in an October 7 video message that the company needed about 100,000 more ETH. No completion date has been announced.

How much ETH has Bitmine staked and what revenue does it expect?

Bitmine has staked 5,067,309 ETH, about 84% of its holdings, valued at $12 billion. The company projects $309 million in annualized staking revenue at current levels, rising to an estimated $369 million if the full treasury were staked through its MAVAN platform and partners.

What is Bitmine's MAVAN staking platform?

MAVAN, the Made in America VAlidator Network, is an institutional-grade Ethereum staking platform Bitmine launched earlier in 2026. Built initially for the company's own treasury, it now serves institutional investors, custodians and ecosystem partners, and a portion of Bitmine's ETH is already staked on it.

Will Bitmine stop buying ETH after reaching 5%?

Lee has described the 5% ownership threshold as a clear cap at which further acquisitions would cease, and a recent release suggested management views the company as largely finished buying. The October 19 update did not clarify whether purchases will continue until 5% is reached.

Sources

• Investor Relations | Bitmine Immersion Technologies
• Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) Announces ETH Holdings Reach 6.04 Million Tokens, and Total Crypto and Total Cash & Marketable Securities Holdings of $15.1 Billion
• Bitmine Explained: The 12,535 ETH Buy, 5% Supply Goal and Treasury Risks
• SkyAI Sold Its Entire Solana Treasury as Bitmine Topped 6 Million ETH. Which Coin Is the Better Buy?
• Bitmine increases its ETH holdings to 6.04 million, closing in on its 5% supply target.
• Bitmine Ethereum Treasury Tops 6 Million ETH After Another Weekly Purchase
• Bitmine boosts Ethereum holdings to 6.04M ETH amid market volatility