ETH Nears $4,500 as Its Biggest Whale BitMine Unleashes $20B War Chest to Buy More Ethereum

BitMine Immersion Technologies is raising the stakes in the Ethereum market, filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to expand its at-the-market equity offering by a massive $20 billion.

The move boosts the company’s total stock sale capacity to $24.5 billion, with much of the proceeds expected to be used for additional ETH purchases.

The Delaware-based crypto mining and Ethereum treasury firm first announced a $2 billion offering on July 9 through Cantor Fitzgerald and ThinkEquity. That figure jumped to $4.5 billion on July 24.

The latest supplement represents a fivefold increase in its share sale capacity, marking one of the largest equity raise expansions seen in the crypto sector.

Corporate ETH Buying Turns Strategic as BitMine Targets Validator Infrastructure

The company said the fresh capital may also be used to buy Bitcoin and expand its mining and consulting operations, but Ethereum remains its clear focus.

BitMine’s common stock trades on the NYSE American under the ticker BMNR, closing at $58.98 on August 11. Under the updated plan, sales will be conducted through an at-the-market offering, with Cantor acting as the sole designated sales agent. The firm will pay up to a 3% commission on gross proceeds.

While BitMine’s prospectus leaves room for debt repayment, buybacks, and business expansion, it also explicitly states that proceeds could fund further Ethereum acquisitions, as well as Bitcoin purchases and mining infrastructure.

The company’s appetite for Ether has already made headlines. Between July 9 and July 25, BitMine acquired 566,776 ETH, worth around $2.03 billion, in just 16 days.

That aggressive buying spree pushed its holdings past 625,000 ETH by the end of July, valued at $2.3 billion.

However, that haul has already grown past 1.2 million ETH, worth roughly $5 billion, cementing BitMine’s position as the largest corporate holder of the asset.

The firm has publicly set a target of acquiring and staking 5% of the total Ether supply, which at current estimates would be about six million ETH, worth roughly $22 billion.

This ambition, if achieved, would make BitMine’s Ethereum stash even larger, in proportional terms, than Strategy’s famed Bitcoin holdings.

Speaking to CryptoNews, Sammi Li, co-founder and CEO of JuCoin, said the impact could be dramatic. “BitMine accumulated $2.9 billion in ETH within weeks, and prices rose. A sudden $20 billion deployment would definitely create supply shocks, especially with corporate staking removing liquid supply from circulation,” Li noted.

She added that corporate adoption of ETH is no longer purely speculative. “Companies aren’t just holding it hoping the price goes up. They’re actually using it. SharpLink stakes 95% of their holdings, and BitMine is building validator infrastructure. When a hardware company adds ETH to their R&D budget, they see it as operational infrastructure,” Li said.

BitMine’s Billion-Dollar ETH Grab Could Redefine Price Discovery, Analyst Warns

BitMine’s buying spree comes alongside other market moves. On July 23, its common stock began trading as listed options on the NYSE American under the ticker BMNR, giving investors new ways to gain exposure to the company’s performance.

Days later, on July 29, BitMine launched a $1 billion stock buyback program, showing confidence in its equity even as it gears up for more ETH purchases.

The strategy appears designed to lock up large amounts of ETH in staking contracts, reducing available supply for traders and potentially influencing price discovery.

“Volatility might spike around corporate earnings, but the underlying dynamic favors stability,” said Li.

The scale of the potential buy is unprecedented, as a $20 billion acquisition at current prices represents roughly 4% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, far exceeding liquidity on centralized exchanges. OTC channels and accumulation strategies are expected to minimize slippage, but anticipation alone could lift ETH prices in the short term.

If much of this ETH is staked, analysts suggest it could accelerate the “digital oil” narrative that is gaining traction among corporate treasuries. Temujin Louie, CEO of Wanchain, noted while speaking with CryptoNews that even if the purchase itself doesn’t trigger a supply squeeze, the psychological impact on the market could be major.

Li agrees, framing BitMine’s approach as “permanent capital removal” that shifts Ethereum’s price discovery toward fundamentals rather than speculative sentiment. The market will now be watching how quickly BitMine deploys its war chest and whether its strategy sparks a structural change in ETH liquidity and valuation.

Ethereum Nears Record High as Corporate Buying Wave Lifts Price Above $4,400

Ether’s price surge has been fueled by a wave of corporate adoption, with publicly traded firms increasingly adding ETH to their treasuries. The token has climbed over 21% in the past week, trading at $4,408 at press time, just 9% shy of its November 2021 all-time high of $4,890.

The rally is being driven by a new wave of corporate adoption, with publicly traded firms rapidly building Ethereum treasuries, a strategy reminiscent of Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin accumulation playbook. Several newly formed Ethereum treasury companies have raised and deployed billions of dollars into ETH over recent weeks, intensifying market momentum.

Analysts say the trend could reshape Ethereum’s volatility profile. “Volatility will always exist in crypto. It’s part of the DNA of this market,” said Asim Sarwar, advisor at Vault PLC, which is also building an ETH treasury.

“But as large whales and institutions keep accumulating, some of those sharp swings could start to dull. Long-term holdings through staking or treasury positions mean less ETH is actually in play on exchanges.”

Over the next 6–12 months, Sarwar expects fewer dramatic downside moves due to reduced liquidity for panic selling, though upside moves could become more explosive when demand spikes against a thinner market.

Li said these equity-funded purchases are “not leveraged speculation” and should ultimately reduce volatility.

Ethereum last crossed $4,350 in 2021, but the renewed buying spree has pushed it firmly back into that range. BitMine now leads all corporate holders, surpassing the 1 million ETH milestone after acquiring an additional 317,000 ETH on Monday, bringing its total to 1.15 million ETH, worth $5 billion.

It’s trailed by Joe Lubin’s SharpLink with 598,800 ETH ($2.6 billion) and The Ether Machine with 345,400 ETH ($1.5 billion), according to The Block.

Outside of public companies, the Ethereum Foundation holds 232,600 ETH ($1 billion), while Coinbase’s reserves stand at 136,800 ETH ($588.8 million) alongside 11,776 BTC ($1.4 billion).

In total, corporate and entity holdings tracked by SΞR amount to 3.57 million ETH, or 2.95% of the entire supply.