Bitmine closes in on 5% of Ethereum supply after adding 71,672 ETH

Bitmine Immersion Technologies stepped up its Ethereum buying this week, purchasing 71,672 ETH and lifting its treasury to 5,278,462 ETH as of May 17 at 4:00 p.m. ET. Using an ETH price of $2,191, the position equates to about 4.37% of Ethereum's 120.7 million-token supply. That leaves Bitmine roughly 87% of the way to its stated "Alchemy of 5%" target of holding 5% of total ETH supply. Chairman Thomas "Tom" Lee said the buying was prompted by "the recent pullback" that took ETH below $2,200, aligning with the firm's long-term treasury strategy. At $2,191 per token, Bitmine's ETH holdings are worth about $11.6 billion. Staking remains a core pillar: the company has staked 4,712,917 ETH, more than 89% of its total position, valued at roughly $10.3 billion at the same price. Lee said annualized staking revenue stands at $289 million. If the company stakes its full balance through its MAVAN validator network and partner platforms, projected rewards could rise to about $324 million annually, based on a seven-day annualized yield of 2.80%. MAVAN, short for the Made in America Validator Network, was launched as an institutional-grade staking platform. Bitmine built it initially to support its own treasury and has said it could later be made available to institutions, custodians and ecosystem partners. The company said the latest purchases reinforce its position as the largest Ethereum treasury and the world's second-largest crypto treasury, behind Strategy. Beyond ETH, Bitmine has disclosed holdings of 202 BTC, $685 million in cash, a $200 million stake in Beast Industries and an $83 million stake in Eightco. Prior reports have pegged its combined crypto, cash and equity holdings at roughly $13.4 billion. The update comes as Ethereum faces fresh market headwinds. ETH recently slid toward $2,100 after Lee tied some selling pressure to rising oil prices, while ETF outflows, whale transfers and higher exchange reserves added near-term downside pressure.