Bitmine Immersion Technologies, holding one of the largest holdings of Ether (ETH) as part of its cash strategy, said Monday it added $74 million of the second-largest crypto by market cap, unlike Strategy, a major holder of Bitcoin (BTC), which offloaded coins to fund its dividend payments.
Bitmin said that he held 5,742,237 ETH on Sunday, an increase of 42,197 Ether since he reported his assets last week. The ETH holdings were reported when the token was valued at around $1,759, bringing its most recent purchases to around $74 million. The price of ETH has since increased to $1,792 each at press time.
Bitmine President Tom Lee said optimism over the passage of the US Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act was an “important step” that could allow “smart contract platforms like Ethereum to benefit” among the reasons the company is maintaining its treasury strategy, adding:
“[T]The increase in the ETH/BTC ratio over the past few days makes sense as markets begin to see greater chances of passage of the Clarity Act.
Predictive market traders estimate there is about a 48% chance the Clarity Act will be passed by the end of the year. Source: Polymarket
The latest purchase means that Bitmine holds around 4.8% of the token’s total supply, or around 121 million ETH. Monday strategy reported selling $216 million worth of BTC to fund its dividend payments, thereby reducing its total holdings to 843,775 Bitcoins.
Related: Bitcoin nears $63.5K at weekly close as trader warns of ‘terrible’ Monday
A bill on market structure awaiting approval by the Senate
The CLARITY Act, currently being considered by the U.S. Senate, is expected to be one of the most significant pieces of legislation affecting the crypto industry, giving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission more authority in the regulation and oversight of digital assets.
Republican lawmakers are push for a vote on the bill once the House returns from its state work periods next week, but it’s unclear whether enough Democrats will sign the legislation without clear ethics provisions. The CLARITY ACT will need 60 votes to pass in the Senate, where Republicans hold a slim majority.
Review: Does “Paper Bitcoin” mean there is an unlimited supply of BTC?
