Bitmine holds 5.77 million ETH: Can an Ethereum treasury model replicate MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin strategy?

In July 2026, an announcement from a U.S. listed company drew intense attention in the crypto asset allocation space. Bitmine (NYSE: BMNR) disclosed through an 8-K filing that, as of July 12, the amount of Ethereum (ETH) it held had reached 5,770,038 ETH, about 4.8% of the total ETH supply of 120 million, putting it just one step away from its “5% alchemy” target. Including cash, marketable securities, and other crypto assets, Bitmine’s total portfolio value reached $11.3 billion.

This figure makes Bitmine the largest enterprise-grade Ethereum holder globally, with its holdings only second to MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin reserves. Before Bitmine, the narrative of enterprise crypto asset allocation was nearly dominated by MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin strategy. Now, Ethereum is entering its own wave of enterprise allocation.

From Asset Allocation to Infrastructure Investment: Why Bitmine Is Betting on ETH

Bitmine’s ETH accumulation strategy is not simply “buy and hold.” In the announcement, the company’s Chairman, Tom Lee, stated clearly that Bitmine’s rationale is a bet on the overall growth of the Ethereum network—including the expansion of the DeFi ecosystem, the development of Layer 2, on-chain tokenization of RWA (real-world assets), and the increasing number of enterprise-grade on-chain applications.

From an execution perspective, Bitmine completed the accumulation of its ETH holdings from zero to 5.77 million ETH over the past 12 months, with steady net buying each week on average. According to the company’s disclosures, it bought 27,801 ETH just last week. This consistent, steady pace of accumulation is similar to MicroStrategy’s “dollar-cost averaging” approach on Bitcoin, but Bitmine’s asset logic is fundamentally different.

Bitmine is not merely an “Ethereum investment company.” Its core business involves blockchain infrastructure—the company operates an institutional Ethereum staking platform called MAVAN (Made in America Validator Network). This means Bitmine is not only a holder of Ethereum, but also a participant in the Ethereum network validation ecosystem. Currently, Bitmine has staked 4,917,189 ETH, with a staked asset value of about $9 billion, accounting for roughly 85% of its total ETH holdings.

Staking Rewards: The Key Difference in the ETH Treasury Model

Compared with MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin treasury model, Bitmine’s ETH treasury strategy has a revenue source that MicroStrategy cannot replicate—staking rewards.

According to the company’s announcement, based on a 2.70% seven-day yield, Bitmine’s currently staked ETH is expected to generate approximately $242 million in annualized returns. If all ETH holdings were staked, the expected annualized return could reach $284 million. This means Bitmine’s ETH holdings don’t just rely on price appreciation to grow in value; they can also produce continuous cash flow through network validation.

This difference is the fundamental distinction between the ETH treasury model and the BTC treasury model. Bitcoin does not support native staking rewards, so MicroStrategy’s business model is essentially “a long leverage on the BTC price”—company value is highly correlated with the BTC price, but it does not generate additional cash flow. Bitmine’s model, by contrast, overlays the attribute of “interest-bearing assets”: ETH is both a store-of-value instrument and a capital asset that can generate returns.

Is ETH Moving From “Asset” to “Money”?

In the announcement, Tom Lee raised a view worth deeper analysis. He pointed out that after Robinhood Chain went live on mainnet, its 27 million users began using ETH to pay on-chain fees, indicating that the market is rethinking Ethereum—ETH is not only an investment asset, but also becoming a base layer of money infrastructure in on-chain economies.

Robinhood Chain is an Ethereum Layer 2 network built on the Arbitrum technology stack, launching its mainnet on July 1, 2026. The chain uses ETH as the native Gas token. In its first week, it deployed more than 13,900 smart contracts, with cumulative DEX trading volume of about $3.1 billion. As of July 13, the amount of ETH bridged from Ethereum mainnet to Robinhood Chain exceeded $141 million.

The significance of this is that ETH demand logic is expanding from “DeFi-locked capital + speculative trading” to the “base currency for real commercial activity.” When a brokerage with tens of millions of users chooses to build its own Layer 2 on Ethereum, uses ETH as the Gas token, and connects tokenized stocks with DeFi, the function of ETH is no longer limited to that of a smart-contract platform token—it is increasingly entering ordinary users’ daily use cases.

Of course, at present, Robinhood Chain’s activity still depends to some extent on speculative trading. But Robinhood’s long-term plan points to RWA and tokenized financial assets, which provides structural imagination space for ETH’s long-term demand.

Can the Bitmine Model Replicate MicroStrategy?

Comparing Bitmine’s ETH treasury model with MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin strategy helps clarify the similarities and differences between the two.

| Dimension | Strategy (original MicroStrategy) | Bitmine Immersion Technologies | | --- | --- | --- | | Core asset | BTC | ETH | | Holdings size | 843,775 BTC (about 4% of total supply) | 5,770,038 ETH (about 4.8% of total supply) | | Cost basis | Average around $75,476/BTC | Accumulating continuously; no unified average disclosed | | Revenue source | BTC price appreciation | ETH price appreciation + staking rewards | | Annualized cash flow | None (BTC doesn’t support native staking) | About $242 million (current staked size) | | Asset attribute | Digital gold | On-chain economic infrastructure token |

MicroStrategy’s success relies heavily on Bitcoin’s price upcycle. As of July 2026, Strategy holds 843,775 BTC. Based on the current BTC price of about $62,500, the market value of its holdings is about $52.7 billion, while acquisition costs are about $63.7 billion, leaving an unrealized loss of about $11 billion on paper. This indicates that a pure “buy and hold” strategy faces significant accounting pressure during market downcycles.

By contrast, Bitmine’s ETH treasury model provides an additional margin of safety through staking rewards. Even if the ETH price is temporarily under pressure, staking income can still deliver ongoing, ETH-denominated recurring revenue to the company. Of course, staking rewards are also denominated in ETH, and their fiat value is similarly affected by ETH price volatility—this is a risk factor that must be considered.

What Should BMNR Stock Investors Pay Attention To?

For investors tracking BMNR, the following dimensions are worth monitoring continuously.

ETH price trend. ETH makes up about 81% of Bitmine’s total assets, meaning the company’s asset valuation is highly correlated with the ETH price. As of July 14, 2026, the ETH price was $1,783.92. Over the past 30 days it rose 7.31%, but over the past year it fell 41.04%. ETH price volatility will flow directly into BMNR’s asset valuation.

Staking-reward stability. Bitmine currently has 4.92 million staked ETH, with expected annualized income of about $242 million. The stability of this revenue depends on Ethereum’s staking yield and the ETH price. If staking yield declines or the ETH price falls, the fiat value of staking income will be affected.

Premium/discount risk for the stock. Based on MicroStrategy’s experience, the market may assign BMNR a premium above the value of its ETH holdings—or it may show a net asset value (NAV) discount if the market does not recognize the treasury model. As of July 14, 2026 (Beijing time), BMNR’s share price closed at $14.61, down about 79.6% from the 52-week high of $71.74. The company’s market capitalization is about $8.32B, while its total holdings of crypto assets and cash are $11.3 billion—implying that the current share price is trading at a certain discount relative to net asset value.

Institutional capital effects from inclusion in the Russell 1000 index. Bitmine was added to the Russell 1000 large-cap index on June 26, 2026, and is expected to attract hundreds to thousands of institutional investors to become shareholders. Inflows from passive funds may provide additional liquidity support for BMNR shares.

Conclusion

With a holdings size of 5.77 million ETH, Bitmine is writing a new chapter in enterprise crypto asset allocation. Its ETH treasury model shares similarities with MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin strategy—both center on bringing crypto assets onto the balance sheet—but also has fundamental differences: ETH’s stakeability gives Bitmine a source of ongoing cash flow, while ETH’s broad usage as a Gas token for Layer 2 networks is evolving its function from “asset” toward “money.”

However, this does not mean the ETH treasury model is necessarily superior to the BTC treasury model. Both models face their own risks: the BTC treasury model depends on a single asset’s price appreciation, while the ETH treasury model layers on volatility in staking yields, changes in network activity, and the risk of understanding more complex asset attributes. Whether Bitmine can truly become an “Ethereum version of MicroStrategy” depends on ETH’s ability to capture long-term value, the sustained deepening of institutional adoption, and the market’s recognition level of this new-style treasury model.

For investors, BMNR provides a way to gain indirect ETH exposure, but it also requires taking on stock-level premium/discount and liquidity risks. In a time when crypto assets are increasingly becoming an important component of corporate balance sheets, understanding the business logic and risk structure of different treasury models matters more than simply following narratives.

FAQ

Q1: How much ETH does Bitmine currently hold?

As of July 12, 2026, Bitmine held 5,770,038 ETH, about 4.8% of the total ETH supply of 120 million. It has completed 96% of its goal to “hold 5% of the ETH supply.”

Q2: What is the value of Bitmine’s ETH holdings?

Based on $1,820 per ETH, the value of Bitmine’s ETH holdings is approximately $10.5 billion. Including $482 million in cash and marketable securities, 206 BTC, and other crypto assets, the company’s total portfolio value reaches $11.3 billion.

Q3: How much income can Bitmine’s ETH staking generate?

Bitmine has staked 4,917,189 ETH. At a 2.70% seven-day yield, it is expected to generate approximately $242 million in annualized staking income. If all ETH holdings were fully staked, the expected annualized return could reach $284 million.

Q4: What is the relationship between the BMNR stock and the ETH price?

About 81% of BMNR’s total assets are in ETH holdings, so the company’s asset value is highly correlated with the ETH price. BMNR shares can be seen as a tool to obtain indirect ETH exposure, but investors must also bear the stock market’s premium/discount and liquidity risks.

Q5: How does the ETH treasury model differ from the BTC treasury model?

The key difference is that ETH supports native staking, which allows holders to generate continuous cash flow (currently about $242 million annualized for Bitmine), while BTC does not support staking rewards. In addition, ETH is widely used as a Gas token for Layer 2 networks, and it is evolving from “asset” toward “money.”