Ethereum News Today: BitMine SharpLink Raise $24.5B $389M to Buy Ether Corporate Holdings Surge

The corporate Ether (ETH) acquisition race is heating up as BitMine Immersion Technology and SharpLink, two of the largest institutional ETH treasury firms, move to aggressively raise capital to expand their holdings. BitMine has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a $24.5 billion at-the-market stock offering, with proceeds intended to fund additional Ether purchases, according to its recent SEC filing [1]. This comes as SharpLink simultaneously raises $389 million in a separate institutional offering, with the firm stating it will allocate “substantially all” of the proceeds toward acquiring ETH [2].

BitMine, currently the world’s largest corporate holder of Ether with 1.2 billion tokens valued at $5 billion, has previously outlined plans to acquire up to 5% of the total ETH supply. SharpLink, with 598,000 Ether tokens worth $2.64 billion, is also positioning itself to expand its stake [3]. Collectively, these moves indicate a strategic shift in institutional sentiment toward Ethereum, with firms leveraging large-scale capital inflows to secure a more substantial share of the limited ETH supply.

The increased demand is already showing up in Ethereum’s price performance, which has risen over 21% in the past week and is currently trading at $4,408—just 9% below its all-time high of $4,890 recorded in November 2021 [1]. This price action has been fueled by a broader trend of institutional adoption, with Ethereum now being viewed as a secondary treasury reserve asset alongside Bitcoin.

Gracy Chen, CEO of crypto exchange Bitget, has noted that Wall Street firms and traditional financial institutions (TradFi) are increasingly warming to the idea of Ethereum as a reserve asset, particularly due to the growing interest in real-world asset tokenization [4]. Standard Chartered has also predicted that Ethereum-focused treasury firms could hold up to 10% of the total ETH supply in the long term, up from just 1% in mid-July [5].

Both BitMine and SharpLink have outlined multi-pronged financial strategies that extend beyond mere ETH acquisition. SharpLink’s SEC filing also mentions the use of a portion of its $389 million raise for working capital, corporate expenses, and affiliate marketing operations [2]. These additional uses suggest a broader business development approach that may enhance the firms’ long-term value beyond just holding Ether.

The competitive nature of this Ether treasury race raises questions about market liquidity and the potential for price volatility in the near term. However, the coordinated and substantial capital inflows from these firms underscore a deep conviction in Ethereum’s long-term potential, particularly as institutional-grade investors continue to see ETH as a strategic asset in diversified portfolios.

With corporate holdings of Ether now exceeding $100 billion, the actions of BitMine and SharpLink serve as a bellwether for the broader institutional crypto market. Their fundraising and accumulation efforts could signal further price appreciation, especially as they align with broader expectations of regulatory clarity in the U.S. market.

Source:

[1] Ether Treasury Race: BitMine to raise $24.5B, SharpLink ... (https://cointelegraph.com/news/ether-treasury-race-bitmine-sharplink-raise-billions)

[2] BitMine targets huge $24.5B raise as SharpLink boosts Ether war chest · Here's what happened in crypto today · New crypto whale buys $1.3B of Ether ahead of US ... (https://cointelegraph.com/category/latest-news)

[3] StrategicEthReserve.xyz (not directly accessible, referenced in the original article)

[4] Cointelegraph (Gracy Chen’s remarks, article referenced in original content)

[5] Standard Chartered (prediction referenced in original content)