BitMine Secures $250 Million for Ethereum Treasury Shift

BitMine Immersion Technologies, a prominent Bitcoin miner, has secured $250 million through a private placement of shares. The funds will be used to establish an Ethereum treasury, marking a strategic shift for the company. The private placement involved the sale of 55,555,556 shares of common stock at $4.50 per share, yielding gross proceeds of approximately $250 million before expenses. The transaction is expected to close on Thursday, pending the authorization of the Supplemental Listing Application by the NYSE American.

The raise was led by MOZAYYX, with participation from notable investors including Founders Fund, Pantera, FalconX, Republic Digital, Kraken, Galaxy Digital, DCG, Diametric Capital, Occam Crest Management, and Thomas Lee. Thomas Lee, who is also the chairman of BitMine, highlighted the potential of stablecoins, referring to them as “the ‘ChatGPT’ of crypto.” He expects Ether (ETH) to appreciate due to the increasing adoption of stablecoins, stating that Ethereum is the blockchain where the majority of stablecoin payments are transacted, and thus, ETH should benefit from this growth.

This announcement comes at a time when corporate Ethereum treasuries are on the rise. Recently, sports betting platform SharpLink Gaming acquired 176,271 Ether for $463 million, making it the world’s largest publicly traded holder of ETH. SharpLink Gaming launched its Ether treasury in late May and nominated Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin as chairman of its board of directors. This move by BitMine, which has traditionally focused on Bitcoin, indicates a partial pivot towards Ethereum. The company’s treasury strategy has until now been centered on accumulating Bitcoin, with BitcoinTreasuries.NET data indicating that BitMine currently holds 154 BTC worth roughly $17 million, making it the 62nd largest corporate Bitcoin treasury.

BitMine is not the only company making this strategic shift. Last week, Bit Digital announced it would wind down or sell its Bitcoin mining infrastructure to buy more Ether. This move reflects a broader trend among institutional investors to diversify their cryptocurrency holdings and capitalize on the potential of Ethereum. The establishment of an Ethereum treasury by BitMine is a significant step in this direction, underscoring the company's commitment to long-term investment in cryptocurrency. This development is likely to attract further attention from institutional investors and could pave the way for more substantial investments in the cryptocurrency space.