BitMine, a Nasdaq-listed company trading under the ticker BMNR, has revealed that it currently holds a massive amount of cryptocurrency. The company owns over 2.15 million Ethereum (ETH), which is worth around $9.7 billion at today’s prices. In addition, BitMine also holds 192 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at nearly $22 million, along with $569 million in cash and a $214 million investment in a crypto treasury called Eightco. The firm also has other smaller crypto assets in its portfolio.

Tom Lee, Managing Partner at Fundstrat Global Advisors, said this move aligns with BitMine’s long-term strategy. According to him, the combination of traditional finance moving onto blockchain and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) creating new digital economies is fueling a major growth cycle for Ethereum. He believes these trends will reshape the financial world — and Ethereum is at the center of it.

BitMine, backed by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, is now the largest corporate holder of Ethereum. The company shifted its focus earlier this year to raising funds specifically to buy more ETH. Tom Lee, who helped design this Ethereum-focused strategy, has been optimistic about Bitcoin in the past but now sees Ethereum as potentially even more important. He says the company’s goal is to eventually own 5% of all ETH in circulation.

Lee emphasized that Ethereum could be one of the biggest investment opportunities over the next 10 to 15 years. He believes that as Wall Street and AI tools start using blockchain technology more widely, Ethereum will play a key role in transforming the global financial system.

Public interest in Ethereum also remains strong. On a prediction platform called Myriad, nearly 70% of users think Ethereum is more likely to hit $5,000 than drop to $3,500. At the moment, ETH is trading just above $4,520, down slightly in the last 24 hours but up 78% over the past three months, according to data from CoinGecko.

BitMine’s approach mirrors that of companies like Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), which famously shifted from software development to investing heavily in Bitcoin back in 2020. Strategy now holds nearly 639,000 BTC, worth over $73 billion.

Other publicly traded companies are following this trend too. While most are smaller firms, they’ve been buying not only Bitcoin and Ethereum but also other popular cryptocurrencies like Solana, XRP, and Toncoin. Many of these companies have seen their stock prices jump sharply after announcing their crypto holdings.

BitMine’s own stock performance has been impressive. Since late June, its share price has surged by over 1,133%. It was recently trading near $53 per share — up about 5% on Monday — and had reached as high as $135 back in July.

With growing institutional interest and strong market momentum, BitMine is betting big on Ethereum becoming a central pillar of the future financial system.