U.S.-listed Bitmine Immersion Technologies has been included on a preliminary list for entry into the Russell 1000 large-cap index.

On May 26 local time, blockchain media outlet Coinpost reported that, if the inclusion is confirmed, the possibility is being raised of large inflows via passive funds and exchange-traded funds.

Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee (톰 리) disclosed the news on X, formerly Twitter, on May 23. Lee said Bitmine’s market capitalisation is above $5.7 billion, the minimum threshold for inclusion in the Russell 1000. The Russell 1000 is an index made up of the top 1,000 large-cap stocks in the U.S. market. Lee explained that many active managers limit their investment universe to stocks included in the index.

Market attention is focused on supply and demand changes tied to index inclusion. Lee said passive funds and ETFs that track the Russell indexes tend to hold about 20 to 25 percent of the market capitalisation of included stocks. He said inclusion could generate forced buying demand worth several billion dollars. He underscored that index inclusion could translate into actual buying flows rather than being merely symbolic.

Bitmine is also known as a company that holds a large amount of Ethereum (ETH). The company announced it held 5,278,462 ETH as of May 18. That is equivalent to 4.37 percent of Ethereum’s total supply. Bitmine has presented securing 5 percent of Ethereum’s total supply as a management goal.

Its pace of purchases has slowed in recent weeks. The increase from holdings of 5 million ETH as of April 27 to the May 18 figure was only about 200,000 ETH. That marked a sharp drop from its previous weekly purchase pace of more than 100,000 ETH. Lee said last week the company plans to push back the time it reaches 5 percent of Ethereum’s total supply from a previous estimate of mid-July 2026 to the second half of that year. Bitmine did not buy additional Ethereum last week.

Attention is also on how it manages its holdings. Bitmine said it had staked 4,712,917 ETH as of May 17. That accounts for more than 89 percent of its total holdings. The company manages those assets through its in-house staking platform for institutional investors, the Made in American Validator Network, or MAVAN. Lee explained that annualised staking income through the platform amounts to about 46 billion yen.

Against this backdrop, Bitmine is emerging as a company where stock-market supply and demand and a cryptocurrency management strategy intersect. Whether it is included in the Russell 1000 remains a variable that could determine the potential inflow of passive funds into Bitmine shares. At the same time, investors are likely to keep a close watch on the pace of additional Ethereum purchases, the timing for achieving its 5 percent holding goal, and any expansion of staking income.