BitMine’s $8B ETH Losses Sink Shares to 7-Month Low

BitMine Immersion Technologies’s aggressive treasury strategy, first announced last July, has become its primary source of financial strain. The firm holds a colossal 4,285,125 Ethereum tokens, valued at roughly $8.4 billion at recent prices but representing over 3.5% of the entire circulating supply. According to data from analytics platform DropsTab, the company is now down nearly 49% on its overall ETH investment, with unrealized losses totaling an estimated $8.02 billion. These figures are derived from the firm’s cost-basis reporting in a late November SEC 10-Q filing and estimates of its purchases since, including a recent acquisition of 41,788 ETH announced just last week.

The stock’s trajectory mirrors Ethereum’s precipitous fall. BMNR shares famously skyrocketed over 400% in a single day last July when the treasury strategy was unveiled, peaking at $161.00. Today, trading at $18.05, the stock has given up nearly all those gains. The current unrealized loss has deepened rapidly; earlier this week, with ETH at $2,300, the loss was estimated at over $6 billion. A further 10% drop in Ethereum’s price in the last 24 hours to around $1,932—a 32% weekly decline—pushed the paper loss to the $8 billion mark.

Facing scrutiny over the mounting losses, BitMine Chairman and Fundstart co-founder Tom Lee took to social media platform X to defend the strategy. ‘Crypto is in a downturn, so naturally ETH is down,’ Lee stated. ‘BMNR will see ‘unrealized’ losses on our holdings of ETH during these times. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.’ He challenged critics by asking, ‘Shall we call out all index ETFs for their losses?’ Lee’s core argument, reiterated to investors this week, is one of long-term conviction. ‘Bottom line: Ethereum is the future of finance,’ he posted, adding that the firm views the current ETH price dip as ‘attractive, given the strengthening fundamentals.’

This conviction is reflected in continued accumulation. Despite the losses, BitMine is actively buying, with its ultimate goal being to hold 5% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. This ambition is shared by other entities adopting a similar treasury model, such as SharpLink Gaming. The strategy hinges on a belief in Ethereum’s foundational role in decentralized finance, betting that current prices will look like a bargain in a future cycle. However, this bullish outlook contrasts sharply with current market data from CoinGecko, which shows Ethereum trading at $1,921, more than 61% below its all-time high of $4,946 set in August.

While BitMine doubles down, broader market indicators suggest the pain may not be over. Prediction markets are painting a bearish short-term picture. On Myriad, a prediction market operated by Decrypt’s parent company Dastan, users currently see a nearly 72% chance that Ethereum will fall to $1,500 before it can rebound to $3,000. This sentiment underscores the significant risk facing treasury-heavy firms like BitMine; further declines in ETH would amplify their unrealized losses and likely exert more downward pressure on BMNR stock.

The situation presents a stark case study in the volatility and high-stakes nature of corporate crypto treasury strategies. BitMine Immersion Technologies has tethered its fate overwhelmingly to the price of a single digital asset. For now, Chairman Tom Lee and the company are standing firm, treating the $8 billion paper loss as a temporary setback on a long-term journey. Whether this strategy is visionary or perilous will ultimately be determined by Ethereum’s price trajectory, a variable currently viewed with deep skepticism by a majority of participants on prediction platforms like Myriad.