An investment in crypto company BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR +0.95%) is one of the top sideways plays on the value of Ethereum. So when the currency does well, as it has lately, investors tend to welcome any move BitMine makes to expand its holdings.
Sure enough, the company's regular Monday update indicated exactly that, and the market reacted by trading its stock up by almost 14%.
Spring thaw?
BitMine announced that morning it held 4,595,562 Ethereum, representing over 3.8% of the cryptocurrency's total supply.
Image source: Getty Images.
The company is known for its bulging Ethereum coffers, but it has other crypto and crypto-related assets too.
On Sunday, its Bitcoin position stood at 196, while its stake in privately held Beast Industries (so named after its guiding light, social media celebrity Jimmy "Mr. Beast" Donaldson) totaled $200 million, and its shareholding in fellow crypto company Eightco Holdings was $83 million.
Of these assets, all but Beast Industries saw increases over the previous Sunday. At that point, Ethereum holdings amounted to 4,534,563, the Bitcoin position was 195, and the Eightco stake was worth only $14 million.
The company attributed its actions to favorable timing. It quoted its chairman, Tom Lee, as saying that "Bitmine has slightly increased the pace of Ethereum buys in each of the past two weeks, as our base case is Ethereum is in the final stages of the 'mini-crypto winter'."
NYSEMKT: BMNR
Key Data Points
Possibly ephemeral Ethereum
With its unique blend of assets, Bitmine is certainly an intriguing and offbeat stock in the cryptoverse. Is it a buy, though? While I personally hold a bit of crypto (including Ethereum), I'm something of a skeptic; Ethereum is a useful coin in numerous ways, but I would worry that it'll be usurped by slicker, cheaper, and/or more effective blockchain projects. Personally, I'm not so hot on Bitmine.
