Tom Lee’s BitMine has staked another 159,728 ETH, worth approximately $390.6 million, according to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain. The deposit brings the company's total staked Ethereum to 5.23 million ETH, valued near $12.78 billion, and lifts the share of its Ethereum treasury committed to staking to 86.5%.
Before the transaction, BitMine held around 6.04 million ETH and had already staked roughly 5.07 million ETH as of October 18. The new deployment raises the staking ratio from about 84% to 86.5%, leaving roughly 816,000 ETH outside staking contracts. The company’s total Ether position represents about 4.9% of Ethereum’s circulating supply of 122.1 million ETH, leaving it approximately 63,500 ETH short of Tom Lee’s stated goal of owning 5% of the supply.
The move extends BitMine’s strategy of generating staking rewards rather than keeping tokens idle. Before the latest deployment, BitMine estimated annual staking rewards of about $309 million at its previous staked level, compared with $369 million if its entire treasury were staked. The additional 159,728 ETH could contribute roughly $10 million in annual rewards.
Ethereum’s price gained 2.78% to trade near $2,450 following recent volatility, increasing the dollar value of BitMine’s holdings. However, the higher staking utilization reduces immediate liquidity because staked ETH withdrawals can depend on Ethereum’s validator exit queue.
