Behind-the-Scenes Fortress in Trouble: BitMine's Final Battle Amid Crypto Market Prezzo Collapse

In the current turbulent crypto market, BitMine—once regarded as the stabilizing force in the Ethereum ecosystem—is facing unprecedented pressure. This publicly traded company holds one of the largest ETH asset portfolios globally, with its stock price dropping over 80% in just a few months. It now finds itself in an awkward situation: the company’s core assets continue to grow, yet market valuation keeps getting discounted.

Financial Pressure Emerges: Holding Steady Amid $300 Million Paper Losses

As the second-largest crypto treasury company worldwide, BitMine had accumulated approximately 3.56 million ETH by mid-November, accounting for about 3% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, surpassing the long-term target of 5%. Meanwhile, the company’s balance sheet shows about $11.8 billion in crypto assets and cash reserves, including 192 BTC, $607 billion in non-leveraged liquidity, and 13.7 million shares of Eightco Holdings.

However, behind these impressive holdings lie hidden pains. Based on an average purchase price of $4,009, BitMine’s unrealized losses approach $3 billion. With ETH prices falling from a high of $4,900 in August last year to around $3,110 now, this paper loss serves as a barometer of market sentiment.

The market capitalization of BMNR (BitMine’s stock ticker) has fallen to $9.2 billion, even lower than the value of its ETH holdings alone—at ETH $3,110, this portion of assets is worth $10.6 billion. The stock discount rate is 13%, which, while not the most extreme among crypto treasury companies, still reflects market concerns about its prospects.

Three-Way Divergence Amid Crypto Market Volatility: Who Is Still Buying?

From a macro perspective, the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance has significantly reduced the probability of rate cuts in December, leading to a decline in overall risk appetite in the crypto market. ETH is currently testing the $3,000 level repeatedly, down more than 30% from its all-time high. In this environment, three forces that once pushed prices higher are now diverging.

Support from ETF channels weakens. Ethereum spot ETFs hold about 6.36 million ETH, representing 5.25% of the total supply. However, according to SoSoValue data, since mid-November, fund flows into these products have reversed, with daily outflows reaching $180 million, starkly contrasting with the continuous net inflows seen from July to August. This indicates that traditional financial channels’ incremental demand is drying up.

Internal fragmentation among crypto treasury firms intensifies. Currently, the total ETH reserves of global crypto treasuries amount to 6.22 million ETH, or 5.15% of circulating supply. Among them, BitMine is still fighting alone, having bought an additional 67,021 ETH last week; meanwhile, SharpLink, which purchased 1.93 million ETH in October, has not made any further moves and is now suffering significant unrealized losses; even more extreme, ETHZilla was forced to sell about 40,000 ETH at the end of October to buy back shares and halt the decline. The entire sector is shifting from collective expansion to individual differentiation—strong players get stronger, while weaker ones seek self-rescue.

On-chain ecosystem also shows signs of retreat. The number of Ethereum validator nodes has decreased by about 10% since July, reaching a new low since April 2024—this is the first such decline since the network transitioned to proof of stake. Beaconchain data shows that long-term holders (holding over 155 days) are now selling an average of 45,000 ETH daily, totaling $1.4 billion, the highest level since 2021. More symbolically, wallets associated with addresses from the ICO era, dormant for over a decade, are being activated and funds moved.

The staking ecosystem is also facing difficulties—current annualized yields are only 2.9% APR, far below the peak of 8.6% in May 2023. Rising borrowing costs have made leveraged staking unfeasible, prompting many stakers to withdraw. All these changes point to a common conclusion: the multiple forces supporting Ethereum’s prezzo are simultaneously losing strength.

The Undervalued “Solution”: Where Is BitMine’s True Value?

When BitMine’s mNAV drops to 0.86, the market seems to have forgotten a key detail—this company’s revenue model is far more complex than it appears.

Unlike MicroStrategy, which relies solely on convertible bonds and preferred stock financing, bearing billions in annual interest, BitMine, although diluting equity through share issuance, essentially has no interest-bearing debt pressure. More importantly, its 366 million ETH staking yields can generate about $4 billion in relatively rigid annual cash flow—this income is far less correlated with BTC price fluctuations than MicroStrategy’s debt costs.

But the story goes even deeper. As one of the largest institutional ETH holders globally, BitMine can profit an additional 1-2% through restaking, operate node infrastructure, and lock in fixed income via yield tokenization (around 3.5% deterministic return), or even issue institutional-grade structured products—these are operational spaces that MicroStrategy’s BTC holdings cannot replicate.

This also explains why ARK Invest increased its stake by 2.15 million shares (worth $8.06 million) on November 6, and why JPMorgan maintained a position of 1.97 million shares at the end of Q3. These institutional investors’ actions are not blind bottom-fishing but reflect confidence in long-term compound growth amid prezzo crypto’s cyclical fluctuations.

Once ETH prices stabilize or gently rebound, BitMine’s mNAV could recover at a much faster pace than traditional leveraged treasury companies, thanks to the stability of its yield buffer, which offers greater price elasticity. The current discount is both a risk and a starting point for value deviation.

The Final Question: When the Last Pillar Begins to Collapse

Is BitMine’s current story coming to an end? The answer remains uncertain. But what is clear is that if this last institutional force also abandons continuous buying, the Ethereum ecosystem will lose not just a wave of capital but the underlying logic of the entire “institutional fortress.”

The market’s current valuation clearly fails to fully price in its structural advantages. Amid repeated lows in prezzo crypto, BitMine’s steadfastness is both a demonstration of confidence in its own model and a final bet on ETH’s medium-term prospects. Pain may be inevitable in the short term, but it will not alter the overall direction of Ethereum’s supercycle—as company chairman Tom Lee has stated.