New York, May 18, 2026, 15:04 EDT
- Bitmine shares dropped roughly 7.5% Monday afternoon, despite the company reporting its ETH holdings climbed to 5.28 million tokens.
- The company reported crypto, cash and “moonshot” assets of $12.6 billion, down from $13.4 billion the week before, after Ether prices fell.
- Bitmine picked up 71,672 ETH last week, Chairman Tom Lee said. He called the move below $2,200 an “attractive opportunity.”
Bitmine Immersion Technologies shares dropped hard Monday. The move came as the company increased its Ethereum holdings, but Ether’s price fell and risk assets stayed weak.
The stock gave up 7.5% to trade at $18.37 in the afternoon, with shares hitting a low of $18.32. About 33.5 million shares changed hands. Ether, or ETH, slipped 4.1% to around $2,098. Bitcoin dropped 2.2%.
Bitmine’s shift matters for investors, as the company isn’t just a typical bitcoin miner anymore. On Monday, Bitmine said it held 5,278,462 ETH as of May 17—about 4.37% of the token’s 120.7 million supply. It also owned 202 bitcoin, had $685 million cash, and stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings.
Total crypto, cash and so-called “moonshot” assets stood at $12.6 billion. That’s despite Bitmine having more ETH tokens on hand. A week ago, Bitmine showed $13.4 billion in total holdings with 5.21 million ETH. The balance sheet tracks the token’s price. PR Newswire
Bitmine picked up 71,672 ETH in the last week, Chairman Thomas “Tom” Lee said in the filing. “We view the recent pullback of ETH to below $2,200 as an attractive opportunity,” Lee said. Bitmine is still aiming to hit its “alchemy of 5%” goal in 2026, he added.
Bitmine reported staking 4,712,917 ETH, which are locked to support the Ethereum network for rewards. Lee said these staked tokens made up over 89% of Bitmine’s ETH holdings. The operation is generating $289 million in annualized staking revenue at a 2.80% annualized yield based on the past seven days.
Regulation is part of crypto trading. Lee said the CLARITY Act would give “necessary regulatory clarity” for crypto and Wall Street. He noted there are still “many steps and hurdles” before the bill becomes law. The Senate Banking Committee pushed the bill forward last week with a 15-9 vote, moving it to the Senate floor.
Stocks lost ground with little support from the broader market. SPY, the S&P 500 ETF, dropped 0.6%. QQQ, tracking the Nasdaq 100, shed 1.3%. Reuters said chip stocks dragged down Wall Street’s big indexes Monday, as Treasury yields moved up.
Bitmine is vying for investors against other crypto-treasury stocks. Strategy, previously called MicroStrategy, dropped 8.1% on Monday. Reuters reported last year that SharpLink and Bit Digital joined the list of small-cap names putting Ether on their corporate balance sheets, following the same approach Strategy used with bitcoin.
The company said it still holds the biggest Ethereum treasury and is second in global crypto treasuries, with Strategy ahead. Its shares were 133rd in U.S. trading by five-day average dollar volume at $857 million, according to Fundstrat.
But the trade isn’t one-way. If Ether drops further, Bitmine’s asset values and shares may stay weak. The company, in its filing, listed risks such as crypto price swings, market changes, challenges in funding treasury operations, and regulatory shifts.
Right now, traders are treating Bitmine as a play on Ether with higher beta — it tends to swing harder than ETH itself. On Monday, Bitmine moved up with ETH, but gave up ground on price. More ETH, but a cheaper price in the same session.
