Bitmine Ethereum treasury losses near $9B as ETH falls under $1,800
Bitmine (BMNR), the largest Ethereum treasury firm, is facing an estimated $8.9 billion in unrealized losses as ETH falls below $1,800. The company’s shares dropped another 5.9% on Wednesday to under $17, extending losses to about 28% since early May. The stock is now at its weakest level since Bitmine adopted its Ethereum treasury strategy in May 2025.
The selloff mirrors broader weakness: ETH is retesting February lows and is down more than 20% since early May. Bitmine has accumulated 5.4 million+ ETH (about 4.5% of Ethereum’s circulating supply). At current prices that position is worth roughly $10 billion, but the Ethereum treasury mark-to-market drawdown is the key pressure point.
Bitmine also differs from some peers. It funded ETH purchases mainly through equity issuance rather than debt, limiting leverage and interest-cost risk. Revenue support comes from staking: Bitmine says it has staked 4.7 million+ ETH (about 87% of holdings) and estimates annualized staking revenue near $276 million.
Even so, the market is focused on the immediate gap between long-term bullish calls and price weakness. Chairman Tom Lee reiterated an aggressive ETH outlook, saying ETH could eventually reach $250,000, citing tokenization, AI-driven transactions, and corporate staking.
For traders, this reinforces how declines in ETH can quickly translate into balance-sheet stress for large Ethereum treasury holders—an effect that has become harder to absorb in a weaker crypto tape.
Bearish
This news is bearish for ETH because it highlights immediate balance-sheet and sentiment pressure on a major Ethereum treasury holder. When ETH moves below key recent lows (here, under $1,800), Bitmine’s large unrealized losses (~$8.9B) can amplify volatility via investor risk-off behavior, potential funding debates, and increased scrutiny of treasury strategies.
Historically, crypto treasury drawdowns during market selloffs often coincide with wider de-risking across public crypto-adjacent equities. Similar to prior cycles where large BTC/ETH treasury firms saw shares trade as “levered by price,” weak spot performance tends to dominate narratives until ETH stabilizes.
Short term: expect sensitivity to ETH technical levels around the February lows, with trading flows reacting to any further treasury-related headlines.
Long term: Bitmine’s low-debt funding and staking revenue (87% staked; ~$276M estimated annualized) may cushion realized cashflow, so the longer-term bearish effect depends on whether ETH can recover and whether market participants refocus on fundamentals rather than mark-to-market losses.