USDBitMine Reportedly Expands $11.5B Ethereum Treasury as Tom Lee Flags a $162B DAT Bubble Implosion
Massive Corporate Crypto Accumulation Meets Market Devaluation Warnings
TL;DR:
- BitMine adds $417 million worth of Ethereum, pushing its holdings to 3.03 million ETH amid falling crypto price index levels.
- SharpLink secures $76.5 million to expand its ETH treasury while shares fall, echoing broader coin market cap contractions.
- Tom Lee warns the $162 billion digital asset treasury (DAT) bubble has burst, with firms trading below their crypto reserves.
BitMine Immersion Technologies has strengthened its position as one of the largest Ethereum-holding corporations, reportedly revealing the addition of 104,336 ETH—valued at roughly $417 million—to its already extensive treasury, as per Lookonchain.
The company now holds about 3,032,188 ETH, representing approximately 2.5% of Ethereum’s total supply and valued at around $11.48 billion at the current price. Executives reaffirmed their long-term goal to control up to 5% of all ETH in circulation, doubling down on accumulation despite choppy markets and a sliding crypto price index.
SharpLink Gaming followed a similar path, announcing a $76.5 million capital raise through a registered direct stock offering at $17 per share—about 12% above its prior close of $15.15. The deal includes a 90-day premium purchase contract allowing investors to buy another 4.5 million shares at $17.50, which could yield an additional $78.8 million if fully exercised. The firm described the structure as accretive to shareholders and a sign of institutional confidence in its Ethereum strategy. However, the company’s stock declined even after the raise, mirroring broader sentiment shifts across the coin market cap as digital asset treasuries became a polarizing trend among investors.
Following the financing, SharpLink’s Ethereum reserves reached roughly 840,124 ETH—up from 797,704 ETH reported earlier in August after multiple acquisition rounds averaging near $4,462 per ETH. During that month alone, SharpLink reportedly accumulated 56,533 ETH, valued around $200 million, alongside an earlier $177 million purchase of 39,008 ETH. Despite this aggressive buying spree, BitMine has acquired about 880,500 ETH in the past month, still surpassing SharpLink's total holdings.
BitMine’s chairman Tom Lee, meanwhile, warned that the $162 billion digital asset treasury sector may have already entered a collapse phase. “Companies are now worth less than the coins they are supposed to represent,” Lee said, emphasizing that many DAT-linked stocks trade below their underlying crypto reserves. He referenced what he called a “bubble burst,” highlighting that the recent $19 billion crypto derivatives liquidation marked one of the largest single events in the industry’s history. Lee argued that the market’s previous confidence in treasury-backed equity had evaporated, with only BitMine and Strategy capturing roughly 86% of current DAT trading volume.
Metaplanet, a Tokyo-listed firm that pivoted into a Bitcoin-holding model earlier this year, briefly exemplified the structural strain Lee described. The company’s Bitcoin reserves now total roughly 30,823 BTC—valued around $3.4 billion—yet its market capitalization and enterprise value have both fallen below that figure. The firm’s market-to-Bitcoin net asset value ratio slipped to 0.99 on October 13 and further down to 0.91 on October 17, showing the company briefly traded at a discount to its Bitcoin holdings. Shares have fallen about 80% since June, from roughly $13 to $2.68, as it prepares to suspend moving strike warrants and issue preferred shares to strengthen its balance sheet without diluting equity. Chief Executive Simon Gerovich stated that Metaplanet maintains one of Japan’s “strongest balance sheets,” with minimal debt and an expanding BTC reserve, describing preferred shares as a less disruptive fundraising tool.
DAT credibility suffered further following QMMM Holdings’ abrupt disappearance after claiming to hold a $100 million crypto reserve across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The SEC suspended QMMM trading from September 29 to October 10 and subsequently filed charges over alleged manipulation and false disclosures. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao called for mandatory investor audits and third-party custodians for all DAT firms, saying, “All DAT companies should use third-party crypto custodians with account setup audited by investors.” Zhao added that YZi Labs, an investment arm tied to the BNB ecosystem, will only back treasury firms meeting those custody and transparency standards.
Across the broader crypto market, analysts pointed to conflicting signals: retail traders remain 94% net long on Ethereum, historically a contrarian indicator, while funding rates on Binance hover at modest 0.01–0.03%. Technical models also indicate a bearish weekly MACD crossover, a pattern that has preceded 43–61% corrections in past cycles. Despite the ongoing accumulation by corporate treasuries, the crypto price index shows fading momentum and increased volatility, suggesting that institutional enthusiasm alone may not stabilize valuations within the evolving coin market cap landscape.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
