U.S.-listed BitMine Immersion Technologies has increased its ether (ETH) holdings to 5.18 million tokens.

On May 5, blockchain outlet CoinPost reported this equals 4.29 percent of ether’s total supply of 120.7 million. BitMine added 101,745 ETH in the past week alone. The company believes the ether market has entered the final phase of a “mini crypto winter” and is continuing its accumulation strategy.

As of May 3, BitMine’s financial assets, in addition to ether, were 200 bitcoin, $200 million worth of Beast Industries shares, $83 million worth of Eightco Holdings shares and $700 million in cash. Total assets were $13.1 billion.

Market focus is turning to how it manages the holdings, rather than the amount alone. BitMine operates its own ether staking platform, the “Made in America Validator Network,” or MAVAN, and has provided services to institutional investors and others since March. As of May 3, the amount of ether being staked exceeded 4.36 million tokens. That means more than 84 percent of its total holdings are locked in staking. Current annual staking income was presented at $297 million.

Tom Lee (톰 리), BitMine’s chairman, maintained a strong optimistic view on the crypto market. He said “spring in the crypto market has already begun” and also gave a positive assessment of U.S. Congress discussions on a market structure bill, the Clarity Act. He also said that whether the bill passes or fails supports the arrival of spring for crypto.

On ether, he cited both demand from institutional finance and artificial intelligence (AI). Lee said tokenisation of real-world assets (RWA) by the U.S. financial industry and agentic AI that requires a public neutral blockchain would be two drivers for ether. That means he is basing the investment thesis on expanding use cases rather than simply expecting a price rise.

On the regulatory front, a compromise version of the Clarity Act in the U.S. Senate was mentioned. The proposal bans paying yields on stablecoins deposited on platforms, but allows rewards when they are used for actual activity such as trading.

Lee said expectations for passage of the bill in 2026 rose after the compromise was made public. He pointed to decentralised prediction market Polymarket, where the probability of the Clarity Act passing in 2026 exceeded 60 percent, the highest level in about a month.

BitMine’s recent moves are drawing attention because expansion of holdings and a monetisation strategy are proceeding at the same time. It is not merely accumulating ether, but is staking a significant portion on its own infrastructure to link it to cash flow. This structure appears likely to determine future performance, alongside ether’s price trend, U.S. discussions on institutionalising crypto, and expanded use of institutional funds on-chain.