Fundstrat's Tom Lee joins BitMine as chairman, aiming for a $250M raise and largest public ETH treasury.

Fundstrat's Tom Lee joins BitMine as chairman, aiming for a $250M raise and largest public ETH treasury.

Fundstrat's Tom Lee has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of BitMine Immersion Technologies, effective today. The appointment coincides with a significant funding round for BitMine, which aims to raise $250 million through a private placement to implement a buying strategy around ether (ETH), making it the primary treasury reserve asset [1].

The private placement, led by MOZAYYX with participation from high-profile investors such as Founders Fund, Pantera, FalconX, Republic Digital, Kraken, Galaxy Digital, DCG, Diametric Capital, Occam Crest Management, and Thomas Lee himself, will see BitMine acquire native Ethereum cryptocurrency (ETH) and contribute it to its treasury operations [1]. The funds will be used to enhance BitMine's treasury strategy on Ethereum, with the company aiming to increase its holdings by over 16x [1].

BitMine's focus on ETH comes at a time when stablecoins, which are transacted predominantly on the Ethereum network, are experiencing rapid growth. Thomas Lee, the newly appointed Chairman, believes that ETH should benefit from this growth, given its role as the blockchain where the majority of stablecoin payments are transacted [1]. Lee has set a key performance metric for BitMine to increase the value of ETH held per share, similar to MicroStrategy's bitcoin-per-share metric "BTC Yield" [1].

The private placement is expected to close on or about July 3, 2025, subject to customary closing conditions [1]. BitMine plans to use the net proceeds of the offering to acquire ETH and contribute it to its treasury operations. The company's operations are located in low-cost energy regions in Trinidad, Pecos, Texas, and Silverton, Texas [1].

BitMine's appointment of Thomas Lee as Chairman highlights the growing interest from traditional financial institutions around stablecoins and the convergence of traditional financial services and crypto. The company joins other publicly listed entities like SharpLink Gaming, which has initiated an ether treasury strategy and appointed Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin as chairman of its board of directors [1].

References:
[1] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bitmine-immersion-technologies-announces-250-million-private-placement-to-initiate-ethereum-treasury-strategy-expected-to-become-one-of-the-largest-publicly-traded-eth-holders-302494355.html
[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/30/wall-street-strategist-tom-lee-is-aiming-to-create-the-microstrategy-of-ethereum.html