BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager with approximately $14 trillion in assets under management, has significantly increased its stake in Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR). According to its latest 13F filing, BlackRock now holds roughly 9.05 million shares of BMNR, valued at approximately $246 million. This represents a staggering 165.6% increase quarter-over-quarter, solidifying its position as one of the largest institutional investors in the company.
The filing reflects positions as of the end of December 2025. While 13F filings typically reflect client and fund positions rather than direct corporate investments, such moves are widely interpreted by markets as a signal of institutional conviction.
Bitmine is not a typical mining company. Instead, it has pivoted to focus on building a massive Ethereum treasury. The company currently holds over 4.3 million ETH, which represents approximately 3.5% of Ethereum's total supply. A significant portion of these assets is already staked, generating regular rewards for the company. Bitmine's management plans to further expand its staking operations in 2026, with a long-term goal of controlling about 5% of the total ETH supply. The company's total assets, including crypto holdings and significant cash reserves, are reported to be approaching $10 billion.
This increased investment from BlackRock comes amid a challenging market for Ethereum. The cryptocurrency's price has fallen by 60% from its August peak to trade just under $2,000. Analysts like Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, warn the price could plunge another 25% to $1,400. Consequently, Bitmine's share price, which represents a leveraged bet on Ethereum, has plunged nearly 70% over the past six months to around $20 per share, and the company itself is reportedly underwater by at least $6.6 billion on its Ether purchases.
Despite the downturn, BlackRock's move underscores a broader trend of institutional exploration into crypto-linked strategies. In January, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink described tokenization as "necessary," and the firm has stated that Ethereum will lead the tokenization of real-world assets, citing that 66% of all tokenized assets are on Ethereum. This dwarfs other ecosystems like Binance's BNB Chain (10%), Solana (5%), Arbitrum (4%), Stellar (4%), and Avalanche (3%).
Tom Lee, Chair of Bitmine, who has predicted Ethereum reaching $250,000, endorsed BlackRock's move. "The best investment opportunities in crypto have presented themselves after declines," Lee said recently, after Bitmine itself purchased another $80 million worth of Ethereum. This sentiment is echoed by other institutions; Goldman Sachs disclosed on Tuesday that it now owns just over $1 billion in Ethereum exchange-traded funds.
