BitMine Immersion Technologies, chaired by crypto entrepreneur Tom Lee, is seeking shareholder approval to dramatically increase its authorized common stock from 500 million to 50 billion shares. The vote on Proposal 2 is scheduled for January 14, 2026. Company leadership, including Chairman Tom Lee, has clarified that this move is not aimed at immediate dilution but is a strategic step to enable future stock splits, selective capital raises, and opportunistic mergers.
The strategy is intrinsically linked to BitMine's pivot in mid-2025 to holding Ethereum (ETH) as its primary treasury asset. Lee argues that the company's stock price now closely tracks ETH. In a bullish long-term vision, Lee projects Ethereum could reach prices of $22,000, $62,000, or even $250,000, which would correspondingly push BitMine's share price to levels like $500, $1,500, or $5,000. To keep shares accessible to retail investors, the company plans future stock splits to reset the price near $25, necessitating the massive increase in authorized shares.
BitMine has aggressively built its Ethereum position. As of January 4, 2026, the company holds approximately 4.14 million ETH, representing about 3.43% of the total supply and valued at roughly $12 billion. This follows a recent purchase of 32,977 ETH for $97.6 million on December 31, 2025. Including 192 BTC and $915 million in cash, BitMine's total holdings stand at $14.2 billion, making it the world's largest Ethereum treasury and the second-largest global crypto treasury overall.
The company is also expanding its staking operations as part of its "Alchemy of 5%" target to own five percent of the total ETH supply. It has staked 659,219 ETH (worth about $2.1 billion), with the potential to generate an estimated $374 million in annual staking income. Central to this plan is the upcoming launch of its "Made in America Validator Network" (MAVAN) in Q1 2026, a commercial staking solution designed to optimize yield from its massive ETH treasury.
Lee cites macro tailwinds for this strategy, including growing U.S. government support for crypto, Wall Street's adoption of tokenization and stablecoins, and transformative regulatory developments like the GENIUS Act. Despite Ethereum's challenging 2025, where it fell 12% for the year, BitMine is positioning for a long-term rebound, betting on Ethereum's foundational role in the future of finance.
