Bitmine Slows Ethereum Buying as Price Drop Erodes Treasury Value
The company's total crypto and cash holdings fell to $11.6 billion from $13.4 billion in three weeks as ETH prices declined 15%.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), the largest corporate holder of Ethereum, saw its total treasury value decline by $1.8 billion over three weeks as a sharp drop in ETH prices overwhelmed continued token accumulation. The company simultaneously announced it would slow the pace of its aggressive buying campaign, pushing back its timeline for reaching a key ownership milestone.
The retreat in treasury value was driven by a 15% slide in the price of Ethereum, which fell from $2,366 on May 10 to $2,003 by May 31. While Bitmine added roughly 210,000 ETH to its holdings during the period, growing its stack to 5.4 million tokens, the price decline more than offset the gains. Total crypto, cash, and other holdings fell from $13.4 billion to $11.6 billion over the same stretch.
The company's weekly acquisition pace slowed markedly in the final week of the period. After purchasing 111,942 ETH in the week ending May 25, Bitmine acquired just 26,497 ETH in the week ending May 31. The company said it would reduce its buying from the prior pace of more than 100,000 ETH per week, noting that the earlier rate would have reached its "Alchemy of 5%" target — owning 5% of total ETH supply — by mid-July. The new target is "sometime in 2026," according to the company. As of May 31, Bitmine held 4.49% of total ETH supply, up from 4.31% three weeks earlier and 90% of the way to its goal.
The price compression rippled through Bitmine's staking economics. Annualized staking revenues fell 19%, declining from $319 million on May 10 to $258 million by May 31, even as staked ETH held broadly steady at roughly 4.7 million tokens. The seven-day staking yield compressed 13 basis points over the period, settling at 2.73%. Projected annualized staking rewards, a broader measure, declined from $352 million to $296 million.
Cash reserves also shrank as Bitmine deployed capital into ETH acquisitions. Total cash holdings fell from $775 million on May 10 to $446 million by May 31, a $329 million drawdown over the period. The company's non-ETH portfolio positions saw mixed results: its Beast Industries stake declined from $200 million to $180 million, while its Eightco (ORBS) holding ended the period at $93 million after fluctuating between $83 million and $95 million.
To replenish its capital base, Bitmine upsized a Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock offering to 3.5 million shares from an initial 3 million, priced at $80.00 per share, generating estimated net proceeds of approximately $273.8 million. The company plans to list the new preferred shares on the NYSE under the symbol BMNP, creating a new security class.
Stock liquidity weakened alongside the treasury drawdown. Average daily dollar trading volume declined from $857 million in mid-May to $628 million by the end of the month, with Bitmine's ranking by that measure falling from 133rd to 225th among listed securities.