NEW YORK, March 12, 2026, 3:14 PM EDT
Shares of Bitmine Immersion Technologies slid roughly 3% Thursday, following news from Eightco Holdings that Bitmine is putting $75 million into a $125 million funding round. Meanwhile, Eightco’s stock surged nearly 22%. In the afternoon, BMNR was last seen at $20.39, with ORBS at $0.99.
Bitmine’s shift is notable: once a mining and hosting outfit, it’s now redefined itself as a firm focused on holding ether on its books. According to Reuters company data, the ETH treasury stands at the center of the business model, putting how it manages cash right at the core of the investment story—not just an afterthought.
Eightco pointed to Bitmine’s backing as the cornerstone of the round, which also brings in at least $25 million each from ARK Invest and Payward, the company behind crypto exchange Kraken. The fresh capital is earmarked for growth across AI, blockchain infrastructure, and digital consumer platforms. Bitmine chairman Tom Lee put it simply: ORBS “sits at the center” of what the next wave of AI will demand. PR Newswire
That’s a hefty sum, but far from a knockout blow. As of March 8, Bitmine reported $1.2 billion in cash, 4.534 million ether, and 195 bitcoin, plus a $14 million holding in Eightco. Going by these numbers, the new pledge eats up about 6% of its available cash. Of Bitmine’s ether, 3.04 million was staked—locked in for network rewards—with the company putting annualized staking revenue at $174 million.
Bitmine continues to tout its ether strategy as the central story. On Monday, Lee reiterated plans to “increase its pace of ETH accumulation,” adding that the company aims to roll out its own staking infrastructure in the first quarter of 2026. Investing.com
Thursday didn’t offer much relief. Ether slipped around 1.1%. Strategy dropped 2.6%, Bit Digital lost 1.2%, and BTCS tumbled 3.9%. Higher oil prices and rising Treasury yields have been squeezing broader markets, fueling inflation concerns as the Middle East conflict drags on, according to Reuters on Wednesday.
Bitmine sits at a crossroads. Shares still get the ether-and-staking trade, but with today’s Eightco announcement, management is showing it’s ready to back AI, blockchain, and consumer-tech plays outside its core. If those pay off, the stock’s upside widens, though it’s less straightforward now for investors who saw BMNR as a straight crypto reserves proxy.
The risks are clear. Back in February, Reuters noted that ongoing stress on digital-asset treasury shares may make future fundraising trickier. Barron’s, in a piece published Thursday, pointed out that plenty of these firms are now priced below the token values on their own books. In this kind of environment, even firms flush with cash may struggle to win investor patience for any sideline moves.
Traders appeared to draw that line. Bitmine slipped, trading over 24.4 million shares. Eightco, as the direct recipient of the financing, saw the bigger swing.
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