BitMine just threw another $60 million at Ethereum. Bold move for a company sitting on $4 billion in paper losses.
The corporate crypto giant acquired 21,537 ETH tokens on November 23, pushing its total holdings past 3.5 million tokens. That’s roughly 3% of Ethereum’s entire circulating supply. Plus, this happened while ETH trades near $2,808, down 29% over the past month.
Most companies would pump the brakes after watching their stock price crater 47%. BitMine is accelerating instead.
The Numbers Tell a Brutal Story
Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain spotted the transfer coming from institutional broker FalconX. The timing raises eyebrows given market conditions.
Ethereum has been struggling since October. The token shed nearly 30% of its value in recent weeks. So BitMine’s average cost basis looks increasingly painful compared to current prices.
Meanwhile, the company’s stock tells an even worse story. Shares dropped nearly 50% over the past 30 days. Investors are clearly spooked by the mounting unrealized losses.
Yet BitMine’s CEO Thomas Lee remains unfazed. He blames the downturn on a “liquidity shock” rather than fundamental problems with Ethereum itself.
CEO Calls It a Temporary Blip
Lee points to October 10 as the catalyst. That day wiped nearly $20 billion in leveraged positions from crypto markets. According to him, similar shocks in the past cleared within eight weeks.
“In 2022, the post-FTX liquidity shock took 8 weeks to clear, but similar to prior drawdowns, crypto prices quickly recovered,” Lee explained. He expects a “V-shaped recovery” following this drawn-out decline.
History might support his optimism. Crypto has bounced back from worse crashes before. But betting billions on past patterns repeating is risky business.
The question is whether institutional patience lasts long enough. Four billion dollars in unrealized losses tests even the strongest convictions.
Staking Revenue Plan Emerges
BitMine isn’t just buying and holding anymore. The firm announced plans for MAVAN (Made in America Validator Network) launching in early 2026.
This proprietary staking infrastructure would generate yield from BitMine’s massive ETH holdings. At current staking rates, 3.5 million ETH could produce substantial annual revenue.
The company already selected three pilot partners to test operations. Lee emphasized building partnerships with “world-class infrastructure providers” to scale the network.
Staking revenue would provide a cash-flow floor that passive holding lacks. Smart diversification or desperate pivot? Both interpretations fit.
Additionally, BitMine declared a $0.01 annual dividend per share. The company claims to be the first large-cap crypto treasury returning capital directly to investors.
Market Pressure Tests Conviction
Ethereum’s recent weakness extends beyond BitMine’s balance sheet. The broader market faced significant deleveraging through October and November.
Nearly $20 billion in leveraged positions vanished during the October liquidity event. Such violent moves shake out weak hands and test institutional resolve.
But BitMine keeps buying. Their latest purchase signals confidence in Ethereum’s long-term value proposition despite short-term pain.
The accumulation strategy makes sense if you believe in ETH’s future. Less so if you’re managing public market expectations. Shareholders watching their investment drop 47% might question the timing.
Lee’s comparison to the 2022 FTX collapse offers hope. Markets did recover after that disaster. However, each crisis brings unique circumstances that don’t always rhyme with history.
The Transformation Play
BitMine is effectively rebranding from passive treasury to active yield generator. The MAVAN network represents this strategic shift.
Staking 3.5 million ETH could generate millions in annual revenue. That income stream helps offset paper losses and provides justification for continued accumulation.
The dividend announcement reinforces this transformation narrative. Returning capital to shareholders while sitting on billions in unrealized losses seems contradictory. Yet it signals long-term confidence in the strategy.
Whether this pivot satisfies nervous investors remains unclear. Stock performance suggests skepticism dominates current sentiment.
The company’s next earnings call will likely face pointed questions about loss management and strategic direction. Four billion in unrealized losses demands answers beyond “trust the process.”
What This Means for Ethereum
BitMine now controls nearly 3% of circulating ETH supply. That concentration gives them significant influence over market dynamics.
Continued accumulation removes tokens from liquid supply. Basic economics suggests this could support prices if demand holds steady. However, it also concentrates risk in a single corporate entity.
If BitMine ever needed to liquidate holdings quickly, the market impact would be severe. That scenario seems unlikely given their stated long-term commitment. But corporate strategies change when pressure mounts.
The MAVAN staking network could prove more significant than the accumulation itself. Large-scale corporate validators might attract other institutional players to ETH staking.
Ethereum benefits from diverse, distributed validator networks. Corporate concentration brings technical and governance risks that pure retail staking doesn’t.
BitMine’s gamble will either look genius or catastrophic within two years. No middle ground exists when you’re down $4 billion and still buying.
The conviction is admirable. Whether it’s justified depends on Ethereum’s ability to reclaim momentum and BitMine’s skill at generating staking yields. Both remain open questions heading into 2026.