Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), the largest ether-focused treasury company, purchased 60,999 ether (ETH) last week as it continues to build its holdings in the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
In symbolic terms, the purchase was the largest made by the company this year, although it was only a slight increase from 60,976 ETH the previous week.
The latest purchase, worth nearly $140 million at current prices, brought Bitmine’s ETH holdings to 4,595,562 tokens, valued at over $10 billion, according to a Monday update from the company.
The company retained cash of $1.2 billion, even as it increased its stake in Worldcoin (WLD)-focused treasury company Eightco (ORBS) last week alongside its purchase of ETH.
Bitmine stock was nearly 9% higher premarket as crypto prices rebounded over the weekend. ETH is up 8.4% in the last 24 hours.
The company has steadily increased its cash position throughout the recent market downturn, although unrealized losses on its position are estimated at around $6.5 billion, according to DropsTab data.
Chairman Thomas “Tom” Lee said recent geopolitical tensions have not weighed on cryptocurrency prices as much as other assets.
“Since the start of the war in Iran, cryptocurrency prices have outperformed and Ethereum has outperformed the S&P 500 by 2,450 basis points,” Lee said in a statement. “In our view, rising oil raises concerns about slowing growth in the global economy. And when investors worry about growth, they buy ‘growth stocks’ including MAG7, software and cryptocurrencies.”
Bitmine continues to generate revenue by staking a large portion of its holdings in ether. The company said it is now earning approximately $180 million in annualized revenue from staking 3.04 million ETH, with potential staking revenue reaching $272 million once its tokens are re-locked to earn yield.
Read more: Ethereum Foundation sells 5,000 ether to Tom Lee’s BitMine in $10.2 million deal
