PayPal founder and billionaire investor Peter Thiel secured a 9% stake in Tom Lee’s BitMine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR), in a strong vote of confidence for the Ethereum Treasury company. The BMNR stock price gained 12.54% in the after-hours on Monday following this development. This recent stake purchase by Peter Thiel comes Bitmine acquired $500 million worth of ETH earlier this week.
Peter Thiel Backs Ethereum Treasury Company
In a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), PayPal co-founder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel has revealed an indirect ownership of 5,094,000 common shares in Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc. The stake, held through multiple affiliated entities, represents approximately 9.1% of the company’s total outstanding shares.
Last month, Tom Lee’s Bitmine Technologies transitioned into an Ethereum Treasury firm with an initial fundraise of $250 million. Thiel’s acquisition of nearly 10% of BitMine Immersion Technologies is being seen as a strong vote of confidence in the company’s strategic direction. This move might attract more institutional players as the Tom Lee firm is drawing comparisons to MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin accumulation strategy.
The race for Ethereum Treasury has picked up pace significantly over the past month, with SharpLink Gaming (NASDAQ: SBET) overtaking the Ethereum Foundation, as the largest ETH holder,earlier this week. This Nasdaq-listed company also holds close to 300,000 ETH in the company treasury.
After revealing the Ethereum Treasury plan in late June, the BMNR stock has skyrocketed, and is already trading more than 760% up on the monthly chart. Following the 12.5% upside in the after-hours on Monday, the stock closed at $45.
Bitmine Holds $500 Million Worth of ETH
On July 14, Bitmine disclosed that it now holds nearly $500 million in Ethereum, securing its position as one of the largest public holders of the asset. With this purchase, the company is closing the gap with SharpLink, as the largest ETH public holder.
The Nevada-based firm disclosed it has acquired over 163,000 ETH since its initial capital raise, spending twice the $250 million raised from share sales. The disclosure underscores BitMine’s aggressive pivot toward ETH accumulation and positions it as a key institutional player in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Following today’s development and interest from Peter Thiel, the ETH price is also up by 5.63% surging past $3,144. The ETH futures open interest is also up 7% to more than $46 billion, hinting at strong bullish sentiment among traders.
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Bhushan Akolkar
Bhushan is a seasoned crypto writer with over eight years of experience spanning more than 10,000 contributions across multiple platforms like CoinGape, CoinSpeaker, Bitcoinist, Crypto News Flash, and others. Being a Fintech enthusiast, he loves reporting across Crypto, Blockchain, DeFi, Global Macros with a keen understanding in financial markets. He is committed to continuous learning and stays motivated by sharing the knowledge he acquires. In his free time, Bhushan enjoys reading thriller fiction novels and occasionally explores his culinary skills.
Bhushan has a bachelors degree in electronics engineering, however, his interest in finance and economics drives him to crypto and blockchain.
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