Tom Lee's Bitmine Boosts Staking with 86,400 Ethereum, Endeavors in $266 Million Transaction

Summary:
Tom Lee's Bitmine has significantly increased its Ethereum staking, depositing 86,400 ETH valued at $266.3 million on January 10, bringing its total staked holdings to over 1.08 million ETH. This move is part of an aggressive strategy that aims to transition the company from passive accumulation to active yield generation.

Key Takeaways:

Bitmine staked an additional 86,400 Ethereum worth $266.3 million on January 10, 2026.
The company’s total staked Ethereum has reached 1,080,512 ETH, valued at approximately $3.33 billion.
Total staking activity began on December 26, 2025, and saw a rapid increase in holdings.
Bitmine aims to own 5% of Ethereum's total supply, having amassed over 4.1 million ETH so far.

Tom Lee’s Bitmine expands staking with 86,400 Ethereum

Rapid Staking Growth from December to January

Bitmine's staking journey kicked off on December 26, 2025, with a substantial deposit of $219 million. The growth was swift; in just two days, the company staked 342,560 ETH worth around $1 billion, by December 28. By January 4, 2026, the total staked ETH climbed to 659,219 tokens valued at $2.1 billion, marking an impressive increase of 250,592 ETH within just one week. This momentum continued into January, with another $1.46 billion staked on January 6, leading to total holdings of 908,192 ETH valued at $2.95 billion as of January 8. The latest deposit of 86,400 ETH on January 10 brought the total beyond 1.08 million tokens, highlighting that Bitmine invested over $1 billion in staking within the first ten days of 2026.

Aggressive Treasury Strategy Aiming for 5% Ethereum Ownership

Tom Lee has served as the chairman of Bitmine since June 30, 2025, quickly transforming the company from Bitcoin mining to Ethereum treasury management. In July, Bitmine announced a second placement of $500 million to expedite its Ethereum acquisition process. Starting from zero, the company successfully accumulated 1,150,263 ETH by mid-August 2025, valued at approximately $4.9 billion. By December 8, 2025, total ETH holdings had increased to 3.86 million. On December 21, the valuation of Bitmine's Ethereum surged past $12 billion, with an addition of 98,852 ETH at an average cost of $2,991 each. As of January 4, 2026, holdings reached an impressive total of 4,143,502 ETH, valued between $13.2 billion and $14.2 billion. Tom Lee pointed out that Bitmine remains the largest “fresh money” purchaser of Ethereum globally, with a strategic goal to acquire 5% of all Ethereum tokens.