BitMine Immersion Spent $16.4 Billion on Ethereum and Is Now Sitting on $8 Billion in Unrealized Losses While Still Buying

The Firm That Owns 3.66% of All Ethereum Just Doubled Down Again

BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) added 51,162 ether to its treasury last week, a purchase worth approximately $98 million at current prices, according to CoinDesk reporting on February 23, 2026. The buy brings the company's total Ethereum holdings to 4.42 million ETH, representing 3.66% of Ethereum's entire circulating supply.

To put that concentration in perspective: as of the time of writing, ETH trades near $1,918, down 3% in the past 24 hours. BitMine's total spend on Ethereum has reached $16.4 billion. The current market value of those holdings sits around $8.2 billion. The gap between those two numbers, over $8 billion in unrealized losses, makes this one of the largest paper loss positions in crypto corporate history.

The company's stock fell 2% in pre-market trading on the news. BMNR is already down roughly 60% over the past six months.

Thomas Lee's Wall Street Bet on ETH

BitMine Immersion is not some anonymous crypto fund. Its chairman is Thomas Lee, the co-founder and chief investment officer of Fundstrat Global Advisors, one of the most recognized independent research firms on Wall Street. Lee has been a vocal Bitcoin and crypto bull for years, frequently appearing on CNBC and Bloomberg to argue the long-term case for digital assets.

His presence at the helm of BMNR gives the company a credibility layer that most crypto treasury firms lack. It also raises the stakes. When a figure with Lee's institutional reputation sits on $8 billion in unrealized losses and keeps buying, it sends a signal to every institutional allocator watching: either this is the highest-conviction long-term bet in crypto, or it is the most expensive case of anchor bias in market history.

Lee stated that the firm remains focused on "methodically executing our treasury strategy and steadily acquiring ETH" while optimizing yield on existing holdings, according to the CoinDesk report. There was no indication of any slowdown in purchasing cadence.

The Numbers Behind the Pain

The financial picture at BMNR is a study in extremes:

Total ETH held: 4.42 million tokens (3.66% of total supply)
Total capital deployed: $16.4 billion
Current treasury value: approximately $8.2 billion
Unrealized loss: over $8 billion (roughly 50% drawdown on cost basis)
Bitcoin held: 193 BTC (a rounding error next to the ETH position)
Cash and equity stakes: $691 million, including a $200 million investment in Beast Industries and a smaller stake in Eightco Holdings
Annualized staking revenue: approximately $171 million from 3+ million staked ETH
Stock performance: down approximately 60% over six months

The $171 million in annualized staking revenue is the bull case for patience. At that rate, staking income alone would need roughly 47 years to offset the current $8 billion drawdown, assuming no change in ETH price or yield rates. That math does not work unless ETH recovers substantially.

For context, if ETH returned to its 2025 high near $4,000, BMNR's 4.42 million tokens would be worth approximately $17.7 billion, enough to flip the position into a $1.3 billion gain. If ETH returned to its all-time high above $4,800, the position would be worth over $21 billion. The entire thesis rests on a price recovery that, as of February 2026, remains elusive.

How BMNR Compares to the MicroStrategy Playbook

The corporate Bitcoin treasury model pioneered by Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) created a template that dozens of firms now follow. BMNR is running the same experiment with Ethereum, and the comparison is instructive.

Strategy's Bitcoin position, now at 717,131 BTC, has benefited from BTC's relative outperformance over the past year. Even through the recent drawdown, Bitcoin has held up better than Ethereum on a percentage basis. BMNR chose the harder path.

Sharplink (SBET), another Ethereum treasury company, holds 867,798 ETH with $1.39 billion in unrealized losses. BMNR's position is more than five times larger by ETH count and the losses are nearly six times deeper. The scale difference is not incremental. It is categorical. BitMine Immersion is the single largest corporate holder of Ethereum by a wide margin, and no other entity outside of the Ethereum Foundation itself holds a comparable share of supply.

The key distinction in strategy: Sharplink's CEO Joseph Chalom has emphasized discipline and avoiding "prioritizing accumulation over everything." Lee's BMNR appears to be doing exactly the opposite, buying consistently regardless of price action. Whether that looks visionary or reckless depends entirely on where ETH trades 12 months from now.

What the 3.66% Supply Concentration Means for Ethereum

A single corporate entity controlling 3.66% of Ethereum's total supply creates dynamics that extend well beyond BMNR's balance sheet.

If BMNR ever faced a liquidity crisis, margin call, or shareholder revolt that forced a large-scale liquidation, selling even a fraction of 4.42 million ETH on the open market would crater the price. ETH's daily spot volume on centralized exchanges typically ranges between $5 billion and $15 billion. Dumping $1 billion in ETH in a single week would represent a meaningful share of total volume and could trigger cascading liquidations across DeFi protocols and leveraged positions.

This concentration risk matters for anyone holding ETH or using Ethereum-based crypto cards. The staking yield that ether.fi cardholders earn, the gas fees that self-custody wallet users pay, the DeFi protocols that power stablecoin spending, all of these are priced in ETH and affected by supply dynamics.

On the other hand, BMNR's 3+ million staked ETH strengthens Ethereum's proof-of-stake security. More staked tokens means higher cost of attack. The company is simultaneously the network's biggest benefactor and its largest single point of failure.

The Bull and Bear Cases From Here

The bull case is straightforward: Ethereum is undervalued relative to its fundamentals, and the market will eventually reprice it. The Ethereum Foundation's 2026 roadmap includes 100M gas targets, native smart wallets, and post-quantum security. If execution delivers and capital rotates back from Bitcoin-dominated flows, BMNR's position could transform from catastrophic to legendary.

The bear case is equally simple: ETH has underperformed BTC, SOL, and most major L1s for over a year. Bitcoin ETF outflows have pressured the entire market, and Ethereum has no approved spot ETF catalyst comparable to what drove BTC's 2024 rally. If ETH drifts to $1,500 or lower, BMNR's unrealized losses would exceed $10 billion, and the $171 million in staking revenue would look like a rounding error against the drawdown.

The stock market is already voting: BMNR shares down 60% in six months suggest investors are not pricing in a recovery.

FAQ

How much Ethereum does BitMine Immersion hold? BitMine Immersion holds 4.42 million ETH as of February 23, 2026, representing 3.66% of Ethereum's total circulating supply. The company also holds 193 BTC, $691 million in cash and equity stakes, and generates approximately $171 million annually from staking.

Who runs BitMine Immersion? The company's chairman is Thomas Lee, co-founder and CIO of Fundstrat Global Advisors, one of Wall Street's most prominent independent research firms. Lee has been a long-standing crypto bull known for price predictions and macro analysis on major financial networks.

How much has BitMine Immersion lost on its Ethereum bet? BMNR has spent $16.4 billion acquiring ETH. At current prices near $1,918, the holdings are worth approximately $8.2 billion, representing over $8 billion in unrealized losses, roughly a 50% drawdown on cost basis.

Could BitMine Immersion's ETH position affect the broader market? Yes. A forced liquidation of even a portion of 4.42 million ETH would significantly impact market prices, given typical daily trading volumes of $5 to $15 billion. The concentration creates systemic risk for Ethereum's price stability.

Overview

BitMine Immersion Technologies, chaired by Fundstrat's Thomas Lee, has become the largest corporate Ethereum holder in the world with 4.42 million ETH, 3.66% of total supply. After spending $16.4 billion and sitting on over $8 billion in unrealized losses, the company bought another $98 million worth of ETH last week. The stock is down 60% in six months. Staking revenue of $171 million per year provides income but is dwarfed by the drawdown. The position represents both the highest-conviction institutional Ethereum bet ever placed and a concentration risk that could rattle markets if the thesis fails.