Bitmine buys 12,535 ether as reported asset value declines
Key Facts
Bitmine Immersion Technologies announced the purchase of 12,535 ether during the week ended October 18, 2026, continuing to expand its cryptocurrency treasury as the total value of its reported assets declined. According to the company's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, total holdings rose to 6,041,481 ether at the end of the period. The company held about 6,028,946 ether on October 11, 2026, according to its previous filing, before adding this week's purchases. Purchases in the previous week totaled 12,532 ether, putting the latest pace of additions close to that of the preceding period. The increase is part of the company's stated approach of accumulating ether in its treasury, which continued during the period in which Tom Lee linked cryptocurrency weakness to shrinking risk appetite.
Bitmine valued its combined cryptocurrencies, cash, securities and other investments at about $15.1 billion on October 18, according to the current filing. That compares with a total value of $16.2 billion in the update the company issued on October 12, despite an increase in the number of ether held in the intervening period. The current update included $582 million in cash and marketable securities among the asset components reported by the company. That item was valued at $612 million on October 11, according to the previous filing, declining alongside the total reported value. In addition to these balances, Bitmine's investment in Eightco Holdings was valued at about $74 million in its latest treasury update.
In explaining cryptocurrency market weakness, Tom Lee attributed the contraction in risk appetite partly to concerns about artificial intelligence financing and the safety of its models. In the company's filing, he cited concerns about "AI financing and AI model safety" among the factors affecting risk appetite. As background, Bitmine's offering prospectus filed with the U.S. regulator states that its digital asset management focuses on "maximizing ether accumulation and growing value," while maintaining controls and oversight. The strategy also includes increasing the amount of ether per common share through professional treasury management, according to the same prospectus. The company's common stock is listed under the ticker BMNR, while BMNP refers to its Class A perpetual preferred stock, according to the regulatory filing.
On staking, Bitmine reported that 5,067,309 ether were committed to these operations on October 18, out of its total cryptocurrency holdings. The company said this balance represented 84% of its holdings, placing most of its reported ether balance in staking. The staked balance on October 11 was the same, according to the previous week's filing, despite the increase in total holdings following the new purchases. Additions to the treasury thus coincided with an unchanged number of staked ether between the periods covered by the filings. This activity accompanies cryptocurrency accumulation as part of treasury management, with the company announcing separate estimates for annual revenue at the current operating level and expected rewards once all holdings are staked.
The company estimated staking revenue at the current run rate at about $309 million on an annualized basis, according to its latest filing on its treasury and digital asset activity. That estimate is below the $336 million annually announced in its October 12 update, with the staked ether balance unchanged between the periods. The comparison concerns an annualized revenue run rate in each update, rather than revenue the company said it had actually collected over a full year. The staking rewards calculation in the current update was based on an annualized yield of 2.58%, calculated from the seven days preceding the update. The annual revenue estimate thus declined alongside an unchanged staking balance, in a week when the company increased its total ether holdings.
Regarding future full deployment, Bitmine expects annual staking rewards to reach $369 million once all its ether holdings are staked. The company linked this estimate to the use of its "MAVAN" platform and partners, as outlined in its holdings update dated October 18, 2026. Reaching the projected reward level remains conditional on deploying all holdings into staking through the platform and partners, under the terms announced by the company. The forward calculation is based on the annualized yield calculated from the recent period, tying the estimate to the yield basis used in the update. The company thus positions staking the remaining holdings as a path to increasing potential rewards, alongside its stated strategy of increasing the amount of ether per common share through treasury management.