Tom Lee’s BitMine Aggressively Adds 44k Ethereum, Now Controls 3.4% of Total Supply

[Ben Graham]

Name one single good thing that Ethereum does. *crickets*. Well, regardless that hasn’t stopped the Ethereum Grayscale price from some positive news heading into 2026.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies is swallowing the Ethereum ETH $2,982.11 2.90% Ethereum ETH Price $2,982.11 2.90% /24h Volume in 24h $16.67B Price 7d Learn more   supply whole. Ahead of its January 2026 annual meeting, the firm revealed $13.2 Bn in assets, anchored by a 4.11 Mn ETH position that now represents more than 3% of global ether supply.

“Year-end tax-loss related selling is pushing down crypto and crypto equity prices, and this effect tends to be greatest from 12/26 to 12/30,” said Tom Lee.

At this pace, Bitmine is reshaping itsownership map for ETH and has even bigger plans for 2026. Here’s what to know:

Ethereum Grayscale Price Crashing? Tom Lee Says Don’t Worry, Be Happy

(Source: TradingView)

Bitmine has already staked 408,627 ETH, worth roughly $1.2 Bn, as it prepares to launch its Made in America Validator Network, or MAVAN, in early 2026. Using the CESR benchmark staking rate of 2.81%, Lee estimates annual staking income north of $370 Mn once fully deployed.

That is more than $1 Mn per day in protocol-native yield, before any price appreciation.

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This is where Lee’s strategy diverges from earlier crypto treasury companies. Bitcoin BTC $87,644.27 1.68% Bitcoin BTC Price $87,644.27 1.68% /24h Volume in 24h $33.49B Price 7d Learn more treasuries rely on supply and scarcity narratives, while Ethereum treasuries generate income through staking.

BITMINE STAKING

MAVAN = Made in America Validator Network
Launching Q1 2026

BitMine took their time for a reason they spent months finding 3 elite partners that met their institutional-grade criteria:

1⃣ Safe + secure operations
2⃣ Strong performance & yield generation… pic.twitter.com/j7RusTb0rA

— BMNR Bullz (@BMNRBullz) November 21, 2025

CoinGecko data places ETH near $2,950 as of late December, down sharply from November highs but still supported by strong on-chain activity.

Glassnode metrics show staking participation near all-time highs, reinforcing ETH’s transition from speculative asset to productive capital. Meanwhile, FRED data confirms that real yields remain volatile heading into 2026, keeping demand strong for alternative yield sources outside traditional credit.

Lee’s direction for his ETH treasury will culminate during Bitmine’s Annual Stockholder Meeting at the Wynn Las Vegas on January 15, 2026.

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Institutions Are Paying Attention to ETH Heading Into 2026, Should You?

Bitmine’s investor roster reads like a who’s who of crypto capital, including ARK Invest, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, and Digital Currency Group. It’s all the cool kids in crypto… except for 99Bitcoins, of course.

All of this support matters as regulatory clarity improves under the GENIUS Act and the SEC’s Project Crypto, which Lee compared to the 1971 end of Bretton Woods in terms of long-term market impact.

If Ethereum becomes the yield-bearing base layer for global finance, owning 5% of its supply might be a genius move for Lee. But if ETH keeps trading the way it is now, he’ll look like the next Enron CEO.

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Key Takeaways

• Bitmine has already staked 408,627 ETH, worth roughly $1.2 Bn, as it prepares to launch its Made in America Validator Network
• CoinGecko data places ether near $2,950 as of late December, down sharply from November highs.

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