BitMine Immersion Technologies, the biggest corporate holder of Ether (ETH), bought another $65 million of ETH for its treasury on Thursday, marking its first batch this month.
The company conducted six transactions via Galaxy Digital’s over-the-counter desk to complete the acquisition, according to blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence.
BitMine’s ETH acquisition comes at a time when Ether reserves across all centralized exchanges have hit a three-year low, with the supply shrinking 38% since 2022 due to corporate treasury purchases and exchange-traded funds soaking up the supply.
On Tuesday, a BitMine representative told Cointelegraph that the company did not use any leverage for purchasing Ether, with the company now holding more than 1.5% of Ethereum’s circulating supply.
“All ETH is spot purchases with cash,“ the representative said.
BitMine stock rallies over trading day
Shares of BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) ended Wednesday’s trading session at $44.86, an increase of 5.58%, according to Google Finance.
The stock saw a minor dip of 0.54% and ended the after-hours trading session at $44.62.
Related: Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest buys another $15M of ETH firm BitMine
BMNR is up 540% year-to-date; still, the stock has crashed by almost 67% from its July 3 high of $135.
In a Wednesday X post, a user pointed out that BMNR is one of the most traded stocks, as its last 10-day average volume stands at 51.07 million shares, while its 30-day average volume is around 54.96 million shares.
There are also rumors that Tom Lee is set to appear on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, which has more than 20 million subscribers on YouTube, and could bring even more attention to both BitMine and Ethereum.
Tom Lee reiterates $60,000 price target
On Wednesday, Tom Lee appeared on the Medici Presents: Level Up podcast, where he reaffirmed his stance that ETH will reach $60,000 in the long term.
Lee said Wall Street’s interest in ETH might become a “1971 moment,” which could propel the asset higher. The New York Stock Market exploded on Aug. 17, 1971, setting records for volume and single-day gain as then President Richard Nixon froze wages and prices for 90 days, along with other moves to fight inflation and strengthen the dollar.
“Wall Street moving onto crypto rails, I think, is like a 1971 moment for Ethereum. So I think it’s creating enormous opportunities to move a lot of things onto the blockchain. And Ethereum won’t be just the only winner, but it’s one of the primary winners.” Lee told co-host David Grider.
Lee said publicly traded companies that have ETH treasuries should trade at a premium because they can stake their treasuries, while an Ether ETF is constrained by liquidity requirements and cannot stake their entire ETH holdings.
According to Lee, since ETH generates a staking reward of 3%, it should add a 90% value to the company holding Ether in its treasury, which would imply a multiplier of 1.9.
Currently, BitMine’s mNav trades at a multiplier of 1.13, according to Strategic ETH Reserve.
“And remember, ETFs, Ethereum ETFs cannot fully stake because of liquidity requirements. So they will never get the proper multiple for their staking.” Lee added.
Magazine: Bitcoin to see ‘one more big thrust’ to $150K, ETH pressure builds: Trade Secrets
