Bitmine Holds 3.86% of All Ethereum in Circulation With 4.66 Million ETH and $184 Million in Annual Staking Revenue

The “Alchemy of 5%”

Bitmine’s stated objective — what Chairman Tom Lee calls the “Alchemy of 5%” — is to own 5% of all ETH in existence. As of Monday, the company is 77% of the way there, having built its entire position in under eight months. The pace is accelerating: Bitmine purchased 65,341 ETH last week, up from a weekly average of 45,000–50,000 tokens, with $1.1 billion in cash still available to deploy.

The strategy mirrors Michael Saylor‘s approach at Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR), which built the world’s largest Bitcoin treasury — 761,068 BTC valued at $52 billion — through equity-funded accumulation. Bitmine is now the second-largest corporate crypto treasury globally, and the largest specifically in ETH.

Staking: Turning Holdings Into Income

Of its 4.66 million ETH, Bitmine has staked 3.14 million tokens, generating $184 million in annualized revenue at a yield of 2.83% — slightly above the composite Ethereum Staking Rate (CESR) of 2.75%. Staking means locking tokens into the Ethereum network to validate transactions; in return, holders earn a yield directly from the protocol — similar in structure to interest on a bond.

Bitmine is building its own validator infrastructure: the Made-in-America Validator Network (MAVAN), expected in early 2026. Once all 4.66 million ETH are staked through MAVAN, annual revenue could reach $272 million at current yields.

ETH as a Wartime Store of Value

Tom Lee, Fundstrat’s founder and JPMorgan’s former Chief U.S. Equity Strategist, framed Bitmine’s accelerated buying around a macro observation. “ETH has risen 18% and outperformed equities by 2,450 basis points since the Iran war commenced,” Lee said. “This is a marked contrast to Gold — which has fallen more than 15%. Crypto is demonstrating itself to be a good wartime store of value.”

That framing reflects a broader debate: whether Ethereum is beginning to play a monetary role during geopolitical stress that traditionally belonged to gold and U.S. Treasuries.

The Clarity Act Catalyst

Lee also pointed to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, legislation that would split regulatory jurisdiction over digital assets between the SEC and the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). Prediction markets on Polymarket price a 68% probability of passage by year-end.

“The Clarity Act is expected to be signed into law before the end of April,” Lee said. “This is a positive fundamental catalyst for Ethereum.” The law would formally classify ETH as a commodity — opening the door to more institutional investment products and reducing regulatory uncertainty that has historically weighed on institutional ETH adoption.

The Institutional Backing

Bitmine’s investor base includes ARK Invest ($228 million position, 16th-largest ARK holding), Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, Kraken, Digital Currency Group, Galaxy Digital, and Bill Miller III. The stock currently ranks as the 101st most-traded U.S. equity by dollar volume at $1.2 billion per day — between American Express (#100) and Thermo Fisher Scientific (#102).

What to Watch

Regulatory Calendar: The Clarity Act’s Senate timeline is the key variable for ETH over the next 6–8 weeks. Treasury Secretary Bessent has signaled a spring 2026 signing window.

MAVAN Launch: Progress on Bitmine’s proprietary staking infrastructure is the operational milestone that could push annualized revenue from $184 million to $272 million.

Broader Market: With ETH at $2,072 and Bitmine still holding $1.1 billion in uninvested cash, the company’s weekly buying pace remains a live indicator of institutional conviction in Ethereum’s direction.