Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has expanded its position in Tom Lee’s Ether-focused treasury firm, BitMine, as the company’s ETH holdings reached a major milestone.
On Monday, ARK purchased 101,950 shares of BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), valued at approximately $4.4 million. The acquisition was distributed across three of its funds: the ARK Innovation ETF, which now holds a 2.6% allocation to BitMine, along with the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF and the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF, both carrying similar allocations.
In total, the three funds now own 6.7 million shares of BitMine, worth about $284 million, according to fund prospectuses.
ARK has been steadily increasing its exposure to BitMine since the firm began accumulating Ether as a treasury asset in April.
BitMine stock surges as Ether holdings surpass 2 million ETH
BitMine shares climbed 4.1% on Monday, reaching $44.10 in after-hours trading, according to Google Finance. The stock has soared 460% since the start of the year.
The rally came as the Tom Lee–chaired firm announced that its Ether treasury has surpassed 2 million ETH, valued at roughly $8.9 billion. In just five months, BitMine has accumulated 1.7% of Ethereum’s total supply, making it the world’s largest Ether treasury company. The firm now controls 42% of the 4.9 million ETH currently held by corporations.
BitMine has set a goal of holding 5% of the total Ether supply and is only about one-third of the way there, suggesting further accumulation ahead.
“We continue to believe Ethereum is one of the biggest macro trades over the next 10–15 years,” said chairman Tom Lee.
Meanwhile, Ether’s price action has remained subdued this month, with the asset trading within a narrow range.
Tom Lee eyes Fed rate cut as catalyst
Lee also expressed optimism over the Federal Reserve potentially cutting interest rates next week.
“Fed cutting interest rates will have dual positives of lowering interest rates—particularly mortgage rates could fall—and boosting business confidence,” he told CNBC on Monday. He added that such a move would support equities, especially small-cap stocks, as well as cryptocurrencies.
According to futures prediction markets, there is an 89.4% probability of a 25-basis-point cut and a 10.6% chance of a larger 50-basis-point reduction.
