Bit Mine Immersion Technologies (NYSE AM: BMNR) has become the public-market proxy for Ethereum after chairman Tom Lee—better known for his Fund Strat research—mapped MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin playbook onto Ether. In recent interviews Lee said he expects ETH to command “$7 000 to $15 000 by year-end,” arguing Wall Street settlement, stable-coin growth and tokenised real-world assets will make Ethereum the rails of global finance.
NEW: Tom Lee, discusses his bullish call for $ETH and why "Ethereum is having it's #Bitcoin 2017 moment again."
— Bitcoin.com News (@BTCTN) August 6, 2025
"#Ethereum is the preferred choice of Wall Street." pic.twitter.com/XaHOhJWscI
MicroStrategy showed that a public company can raise equity and debt, pour the proceeds into crypto and see its share price outperform the underlying asset as a scarcity premium builds. Michael Saylor’s firm now sits on 597 000+ BTC and just posted its first profit in six quarters largely thanks to that treasury.
Lee is applying the same capital-markets alchemy to Ether. Since launching an “ETH Treasury strategy” on 30 June, BitMine has bought 833 137 ETH—worth about $2.9 billion at today’s $3 500 spot—making it the largest Ether treasury in the world and the third-largest crypto treasury overall.
The speed and scale of those purchases have attracted blue-chip believers. On 22 July, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest revealed a $182 million block buy (4.77 million shares spread across ARKK, ARKW and ARKF), pledging that 100 % of the proceeds BitMine receives will fund more ETH. Bill Miller III and Founders Fund have also taken strategic stakes, signalling that value investors and venture capital are comfortable treating ETH as productive digital collateral.
At today’s $3 500 ETH, Bit Mine’s crypto hoard plus cash equates to net asset value (NAV) of roughly $22.76 per fully-diluted share with 121.7 million shares outstanding. If Ether climbs to Lee’s $15 000 target, that same 833 137-token stash would be worth **$12.5 billion**—a 4.3× uplift. Even if the share count remains unchanged, NAV would jump toward $100 per share.
MicroStrategy currently trades at ~1.5–2 × its BTC-backed NAV; a similar premium on Bit Mine would push BMNR north of $150, a 5× return from the recent $31 print. Those numbers exclude any incremental ETH buys, staking yield (4–6 % once the company turns on validators) or optionality from its legacy immersion-cooling mining business.
The market is already treating BMNR as an Ether call option. In July the stock rocketed from $4 to $161 before shaking out speculators and settling near $39; just this week it rebounded 14 % intraday and now sits 167 % higher month-on-month as Ethereum regained the $3 500 level.(The Economic Times) Daily turnover averages $1.6 billion, ranking BMNR the 42nd most liquid U.S. listing—ample depth for institutions chasing blockchain exposure without holding tokens directly.
BMNR’s fundamentals hinge on a single asset; a deep ETH draw-down would compress NAV and sentiment faster than diversified miners. Share-count opacity (SEC filings show 4.3 million basic shares versus >120 million fully diluted) makes precise valuation tricky.(SEC) Regulatory surprises—e.g., staking deemed a security—could hurt both the treasury model and Ether’s price. And like MicroStrategy, BitMine is not yet profitable on an operating basis; treasury gains mask negative earnings.
Tom Lee believes Ethereum is having its “2017 Bitcoin moment.” If he’s right and ETH reaches $15 000, BitMine’s balance-sheet value could quadruple, translating to a triple-digit stock price without assuming any premium. With ARK Invest, Miller and other heavyweights validating the strategy, BMNR offers equity investors a leveraged, tax-advantaged path to Ether upside—albeit with the volatility and dilution risks that come with any high-octane treasury play. For investors comfortable with crypto beta, BitMine may prove the astronomical ticket Lee is betting on.
