Tom Lees Bitmine Expands Staking With 86,400 Ethereum, $266M Move

Bitmine staked 86,400 Ethereum worth $266.3 million on January 10, bringing total staked holdings to 1,080,512 ETH valued at approximately $3.33 billion.

The move continues the aggressive staking expansion that began December 26, 2025, when the company first deposited 74,880 ETH.

Tom Lee, Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder and Bitmine chairman, has overseen the accumulation of over 4.1 million Ethereum (ETH) representing 3.43% of ETH’s total supply.

The company has shifted from passive accumulation to active yield generation, with roughly one-quarter of its holdings now staked for rewards.

At current staking yields near 3.12% annually, the 1.08 million staked ETH could generate approximately 33,700 ETH per year.

December to January Ethereum staking acceleration

Bitmine started staking operations December 26 with a $219 million deposit. The activity accelerated quickly, with the company staking 342,560 ETH worth approximately $1 billion in just two days through December 28.

By January 4, 2026, total staked ETH reached 659,219 tokens valued at $2.1 billion, representing an increase of 250,592 ETH in a single week. The pace continued into January with an additional $1.46 billion staked January 6.

January 8 saw Bitmine stake approximately 99,800 ETH worth roughly $344.4 million, bringing total staked holdings to 908,192 ETH valued at $2.95 billion. The January 10 deposit of 86,400 ETH pushed the total past 1.08 million tokens.

The staking timeline shows Bitmine deployed over $1 billion into staking during the first 10 days of January 2026.

Aggressive treasury strategy targets 5% supply ownership

Lee became Bitmine chairman June 30, 2025, immediately pivoting the company from Bitcoin mining to Ethereum treasury management.

The company announced a second $500 million placement in July to accelerate purchases. Starting from zero holdings, Bitmine accumulated 1,150,263 ETH worth approximately $4.9 billion by mid-August 2025.

Holdings reached 3.86 million ETH by December 8 when the company released 2025 earnings. Bitmine surpassed 4 million ETH on December 21, valued at over $12 billion. The company added 98,852 ETH in a single week at an average price of $2,991 per token.

By January 4, 2026, holdings grew to 4,143,502 ETH worth $13.2-14.2 billion. Lee noted Bitmine remained the largest “fresh money” buyer of ETH globally. The company aims to acquire 5% of all Ethereum tokens.