Ether Worth $390 Million Locked up by Tom Lee’s Bitmine
Key Takeaways
Bitmine staked 159,728 ETH ($390.6M) on Oct. 21, bringing its staked total to 5.23M ETH.Staking now covers 86.5% of Bitmine’s roughly 6.04M ETH, up from about 84% on Oct. 18.Bitmine sits about 63,500 ETH short of its goal to own 5% of ether’s 122.1M circulating supply.
One Transaction, Nine Figures
Onchain analysts reported on Oct. 21 that Tom Lee’s Bitmine had staked another 159,728 ETH, worth about $390.6 million, taking the company’s staked position to 5.23 million ETH, valued near $12.78 billion, or 86.5% of its holdings. The moves can be followed in minute detail on Arkham’s Bitmine page, which tracks the company’s labeled wallets.
In brief, staking is the process of locking ether into Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system, where validators secure the network and earn rewards in return.
How Big Is the Pile Now?
As of Oct. 19, Bitcoin.com News reported the company held a total of 6,041,481 ETH after buying 12,535 ETH that week, with 5,067,309 ETH already staked as of Oct. 18. Add the latest 159,728 ETH and the staked figure lands at about 5.227 million, matching Lookonchain’s count.
That is roughly 4.9% of ether’s 122.1 million circulating supply, leaving Bitmine about 63,500 ETH short of the 5% target Lee has set for the company. The firm first passed 6 million ETH earlier this month.
Why Stake Now?
The yield argument is straightforward, as in an Oct. 19 update, Bitmine estimated annualized staking rewards of about $309 million at its prior staked level, rising to $369 million if the full treasury were staked. At that rate, the new 159,728 ETH alone should add roughly $10 million a year in rewards.
The timing is Lee’s prerogative, and he blamed the recent crypto dip on AI funding worries, U.S.-Iran tensions, midterm uncertainty and rising bond yields, adding:
“[Such moments] have historically been attractive risk/reward opportunities.”
Earlier this month he went further, calling the bottom in and predicting the biggest bull market yet. Ether itself is currently trading near $2,443, up about 1.4% on the day, which values Bitmine’s ether at roughly $14.8 billion.
The backdrop helps the bet as Bitcoin.com News reported that JPMorgan is bringing JPM Coin to Ethereum, the kind of Wall Street usage that ether bulls point to as long-term demand for the network. Staking lets Bitmine collect rewards while it waits for that thesis to play out.
The Trade-off Nobody Advertises
Staked ether is not instantly liquid, with the unstaking process entailing joining Ethereum’s validator exit queue, which lengthens when many holders try to leave at once. For Bitmine, that is a choice to earn yield in exchange for slower access if it ever needs to sell.
It also concentrates a large slice of the network’s stake under one corporate roof and at 5.23 million ETH, a single company’s choice of validators and staking providers now carries real weight for Ethereum.
Not every institution is leaning in, however, as Vaneck recently pulled its Lido staked ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) before its scheduled launch last week (a reminder that wrapping staking yield in regulated products is still an open question).
