Tom Lee doesn't do small bets. If you've followed the Fundstrat founder for any length of time, you know he’s basically the "permabull" of Wall Street. But what he’s doing right now with BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) is honestly on another level. He isn't just predicting a rally; he’s building a massive Tom Lee Ethereum treasury that aims to control a staggering 5% of the total ETH supply.
It's a bold play.
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Think about that for a second. We are talking about a company that has pivotally shifted from mining Bitcoin to becoming the world's largest corporate holder of Ethereum. As of mid-January 2026, BitMine has officially amassed over 4.17 million ETH. At current market prices, that is a war chest worth more than $13.4 billion.
The BitMine Pivot: From Mining to Staking Powerhouse
The story really took off in June 2025. That’s when Lee stepped in as Chairman of BitMine and fundamentally rewrote the company's DNA. They aren't just holding coins in a cold wallet like a digital Scrooge McDuck. They are actively putting that capital to work.
BitMine is currently staking about 1.5 million of those tokens. By doing this, they’ve turned the company into a yield-generating machine. Lee recently shared that they expect to rake in over $1 million a day in staking rewards alone once their "Made in America Validator Network" (MAVAN) is fully operational.
It’s a strategy clearly inspired by Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin playbook at MicroStrategy, but with a "productive asset" twist. While Bitcoin just sits there, Ethereum earns "rent" through staking.
Why the 5% Target Matters
Lee’s goal is to hit 5% of the total circulating supply. This isn't just a random number he pulled out of a hat. By controlling such a massive slice of the network, BitMine effectively becomes a systemic part of the Ethereum ecosystem.
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Some critics, like trader Andrew Kang, have called the financial logic "illiterate," arguing that the dilution required to buy this much ETH hurts shareholders. But Lee sees it differently. He’s betting on a "supercycle." To him, Ethereum is the settlement layer of the future—the place where Wall Street will eventually tokenize every bond, stock, and piece of real estate in existence.
Tom Lee Ethereum Treasury: The $250,000 Prediction
You might want to sit down for this part. Lee isn't just looking for a return to all-time highs. In a recent message to shareholders, he floated a long-term target of $250,000 per ETH.
Yeah, you read that right.
If Ethereum ever hits that number, the network would be worth roughly $30 trillion. That’s more than the current market caps of Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia combined. It sounds crazy—honestly, it probably is to most traditional analysts—but Lee’s thesis relies on the idea that 2026 is the year of the "leverage reset" and recovery.
- Institutional Inflows: BlackRock’s ETH ETF is already holding over $11 billion.
- Tokenization: As real-world assets (RWAs) move on-chain, demand for ETH as "gas" to run those transactions sky-rockets.
- Scarcity: With so much ETH locked in staking or held by treasuries like BitMine, the "float" available to buy on exchanges is shrinking.
The Stock Split Controversy
To prepare for this potential moonshot, Lee is asking shareholders to approve a 100-fold increase in authorized shares—from 500 million to 50 billion. The logic is that if ETH hits $250k, BitMine’s stock price could soar to $5,000 per share. He wants the flexibility to split the stock so it stays "accessible" to regular investors.
It’s a classic "pick your side" moment. You either believe Ethereum is the next global financial rail, or you think this is a massive bubble fueled by corporate leverage.
Navigating the Risks
It’s not all sunshine and green candles. The "Digital Asset Treasury" (DAT) model is under immense pressure. Because many of these companies trade at a premium to their underlying assets (mNAV), they are incredibly sensitive to market sentiment.
If ETH drops, these stocks don't just fall—they crater.
We saw this in late 2025 when a "mini crypto winter" wiped nearly $1 trillion off the total market cap. BitMine’s stock took a hit, falling significantly from its July peaks. But Lee remains undeterred. He recently noted that BitMine is still the largest "fresh money" buyer of ETH in the world, even picking up another $76 million worth in the second week of 2026.
What This Means for Your Portfolio
If you’re looking at the Tom Lee Ethereum treasury as a signal, there are a few practical ways to digest this. First, the 4% staking yield BitMine is chasing is something any individual can participate in through various staking providers. You don't need a billion dollars to earn yield.
Second, the correlation between DAT stocks and the underlying asset is becoming a double-edged sword. Investors are using BMNR as a high-beta play on Ethereum. If you think Lee is right about the $7,000 to $9,000 near-term target, the stock likely outperforms the coin. If he's wrong, the "leverage reset" could get ugly.
Actionable Insights for Investors:
- Watch the mNAV: Check if BitMine (BMNR) is trading at a discount or a premium to the ETH it actually owns. Buying at a discount is a classic value play in the crypto-equity space.
- Monitor ETF Flows: Watch the BlackRock and Fidelity Ethereum ETFs. If monthly inflows stay above $300 million, it validates Lee’s institutional adoption thesis.
- Staking Yields: Keep an eye on the Composite Ethereum Staking Rate (CESR). If yields fall too low, the "productive asset" argument loses some of its punch.
The reality is that Tom Lee has tied his reputation—and billions of dollars—to the success of the Ethereum network. Whether he’s a visionary or just the ultimate permabull, the scale of his Ethereum treasury is now too big for the market to ignore.
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To stay updated on BitMine's holdings and Lee's latest projections, monitor the company's SEC filings for share authorization updates and verify on-chain staking data through platforms like Arkham Intelligence to see if they continue their aggressive accumulation.