Bitmine deposited 74,880 ETH worth approximately $219 million into Ethereum’s proof-of-stake protocol, marking the company’s first staking transaction.
The move comes as the largest Ethereum (ETH) treasury seeks to generate yield from its 4.066 million ETH holdings.
According to EmberCN tracking, the deposit occurred on December 27. With an estimated annual percentage return of 3.12%, staking the entire treasury would generate approximately 126,800 ETH per year.
Based on the current price of Ethereum, the annual staking rewards would be worth approximately $371 million.
First staking deployment of over 4 million Ethereum treasury
The 74,880 ETH deposit is Bitmine’s initial entry into generating staking income from its holdings. The company built up its Ethereum position through systematic acquisitions similar to Strategy’s Bitcoin buying program.
Bitmine’s decision to bet suggests that the company hopes to hold Ethereum for the long term rather than actively trading the position.
Staked ETH can be withdrawn, but requires a queue period that varies depending on network conditions. The lockup period makes betting unsuitable for treasury assets that might need quick liquidation.
The initial $219 million deployment tests the staking infrastructure before potentially committing the entire treasury.
With 4.066 million ETH, Bitmine holds approximately $11.9 billion worth of Ethereum at current prices. Total staking would generate over 126,000 ETH annually in passive income.
Lee Targets Ethereum Between $7,000 and $9,000 in Early 2026
Bitmine President Tom Lee he told CNBC that Ethereum could reach between $7,000 and $9,000 by early 2026. Speaking on December 26, Lee said the outlook for cryptocurrencies “remains very good for the next five to ten years.”
“Wall Street wants to tokenize everything, you know, whether it’s Vlad at Robin Hood or Larry Fink at BlackRock, and that will bring a lot of efficiencies,” Lee said. “But it really presents the use case for something like Ethereum.”
Lee pointed to tokenization as Ethereum’s main growth driver. Over time, as Ethereum competes with traditional payment avenues, the token could reach $20,000, he predicted.
The president addressed the cryptocurrency reversal on October 10, calling it “a liquidation event similar to 2022, when FTX collapsed.” It took eight weeks for the markets to recover and find their footing, Lee explained. “I think that’s what’s happening now,” he said.
Lee also spoke about Bitcoin, saying the asset suffers from “gold envy” as gold reaches a value of $30 trillion.
