BitMine Immersion Technologies acquired 41,788 ETH last week despite mounting paper losses.

The purchase lifted the company's holdings to 4.29 million ETH, worth roughly $10 billion at current prices.

BMNR stock dropped 5% in early U.S. trading Monday.

What Happened

The Ethereum treasury firm now holds 3.55% of ETH's circulating supply.

Total assets include $586 million in cash, 193 Bitcoin (BTC), a $200 million Beast Industries stake, and a $20 million Eightco Holdings position, according to a Monday company update.

Ether's weekend slide to $2,300 pushed the firm's estimated unrealized losses to roughly $6 billion.

BitMine acquired the tokens for around $96 million at prevailing prices.

The purchase marks the company's largest weekly haul this year.

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Why It Matters

Chairman Tom Lee said ether's price weakness contrasts sharply with rising blockchain activity.

Ethereum daily transactions recently hit record highs near 2.5 million, roughly double year-ago levels.

"During the crypto winter of 2021-2022 or 2018-2019, Ethereum transaction activity and active wallets declined," Lee said.

"This is counter to what we have seen in the past 12 months."

Lee attributed current price pressure to lingering effects from October's crypto crash and precious metals gains draining liquidity from digital assets.

Gold fell 9% on Jan. 30, its fourth-largest daily decline on record.

Staking Revenue

BitMine has staked nearly 2.9 million ETH, representing roughly two-thirds of its holdings.

The staked position generates an estimated $188 million in annual revenue.

At full scale with its planned MAVAN validator network, staking could produce $374 million yearly, the company projects.

The firm trades as the largest public Ethereum treasury company globally.

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