Bitmine Becomes Public Company with $13.1B Crypto Treasury After Ethereum Staking Surge

Bitmine, a Las Vegas-based company, has staked more than $10 billion in Ethereum (ETH), solidifying its position as the largest corporate Ethereum treasury and a major yield-generating bet on the network’s proof-of-stake economy.

On May 4, Bitmine announced its staked ETH position at 4.36 million tokens, valued at $10.2 billion based on ETH’s average price of $2,336. This stake represents over 84% of Bitmine’s total ETH holdings and provides one of the largest visible corporate exposures to Ethereum’s validator system.

As of May 3, Bitmine held 5.18 million ETH, equivalent to approximately 4.29% of Ethereum’s total supply. The company’s total assets include:

• 200 Bitcoin
• $700 million in cash
• An investment in Beast Industries
• A stake in Eightco Holdings

Combined, Bitmine’s crypto, cash, and “moonshot” holdings total $13.1 billion.

Bitmine’s Staking Revenue and Strategic Shift

Bitmine’s staking operations are generating annualized revenue of about $297 million, based on a seven-day annualized yield of 2.91%. Chairman Thomas “Tom” Lee projected that annual staking rewards could reach $352 million once the company’s ETH holdings are fully staked through MAVAN (Made in America Validator Network) and other staking partners.

This disclosure marks a strategic shift for Bitmine, moving from a balance-sheet-accumulation approach to a recurring-revenue model. While public companies have traditionally used Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset—Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy being a prime example—Ethereum offers a distinct advantage: it can be staked directly into the network to earn protocol rewards.

With its massive scale, Bitmine now serves as a public-market proxy for Ethereum’s staking economy. Investors in its stock (BMNR) are exposed not only to fluctuations in ETH’s market price but also to the company’s ability to manage validator infrastructure, earn network rewards, and compound its Ethereum position over time.

Notably, BMNR traded an average daily dollar volume of $625 million over five days as of May 1, ranking 173rd among US-listed stocks. This liquidity provides a public equity channel for investors to express a view on Ethereum accumulation and staking without directly holding the token.

Ethereum’s Validator Queue Signals Renewed Demand

Bitmine’s aggressive staking push coincides with a sharp increase in Ethereum’s validator entry queue, indicating renewed demand for ETH as a yield-bearing asset—even as the token’s price narrative remains uncertain.

According to ValidatorQueue data:

• 3.72 million ETH are waiting to enter the validator set, with an estimated activation delay of more than 64 days.
• 346,000 ETH are waiting to exit, with an estimated wait of about six days.

The network currently has:

• 898,000 active validators
• 38.6 million ETH staked
• A staking rate of roughly 31.7% of supply

Ethereum employs a churn mechanism to limit how much ETH can enter or leave validation at a time, designed to protect consensus stability. This throttle can create long waiting lines when new deposits exceed the rate at which validators can be activated. The queue does not imply that all waiting ETH is already committed for staking.