BitMine starts to hold $12 billion worth of Ethereum

BitMine, the largest holder of Ethereum, has begun to allocate a portion of its $12 billion ETH bond.

On December 27, Ember chain analyst CN reported that the company had deposited about 74,880 ETH, worth about $219 million, in leveraged Ethereum contracts.

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Why does BitMine collect its holdings?

This step represents only a small part of BitMine’s total is about 4.07 million ETH Its current value is about $12 billion.

However, it signals a tangible change in the way the company manages its balance sheet.

If the company were to allocate its entire security to the current estimated annual yield (APY) of 3.12%, it would generate approximately 126,800 shares per year. At current prices, this equates to $371 million in annual revenue.

Such a structure would effectively recast BitMine as a linked performance tool Consensus road in Ethereum. This means that its assessment will not depend mainly on the movements of the price direction of the asset.

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Goals and risks of storing ETH

However, the strategy introduces new financial and operational risks to the company.

Unlike Bitcoin held in cold storage, which can be liquidated immediately in stressed market conditions, staked Ether is restricted by protocol-level withdrawal mechanisms.

It should To listeners outside the network Going through an exit queue, which can delay access to capital during periods of increased volatility.

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In a liquidity crunch, this delay could leave BitMine vulnerable to price fluctuations that non-addicted Treasuries would otherwise avoid.

This grant highlights the structural difference between holding Ethereum as a passive asset and deploying it as productive capital in the network.

However, BitMine has a long-term goal: Get 5% of the total supply of Ethereum and store it.

To support this vision, the company is developing its own stake platform, the Made in America Verification Network (MAVAN), scheduled for early 2026.

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“We continue to make progress on our staking solution known as the Made in America Validator Network (MAVAN). He said Thomas Lee, president of BitMine, said that this will be a “best-in-class” solution that offers a secure licensing infrastructure and will be implemented in early 2026.

Meanwhile, critics argue that consolidating such a large portion of ether under a single US-based auditor framework introduces centralization risks. They say this structure could undermine a network designed to be neutral and globally distributed.

With BitMine currently controls approx 3.36% of the total ETH supply, MAVAN can, in theory, face the pressure to comply US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions.).

As a result, the company may refuse to validate blocks that contain transactions associated with penalized addresses.