Bitmine re-stakes 171,264 ETH, with total staked amount approaching 6 billion USD

Bitmine on January 23, 2026, staked another 171,264 ETH through its address, valued at approximately $503 million.

This is the latest step in Bitmine’s massive Ethereum accumulation strategy. After this large-scale staking, the total ETH staked by Bitmine has reached 1,943,200, with a total value of about $5.73 billion based on current market capitalization.

01 Strategic Action

On January 23, 2026, according to data analysis platform OnchainLens, cryptocurrency investment firm Bitmine executed a large on-chain operation.

Its address deposited 171,264 ETH into the Ethereum staking contract. Based on current market prices, this transaction is valued at up to $503.24 million, immediately attracting widespread attention in the crypto market.

This is not a spur-of-the-moment move by Bitmine, but another firm execution of its long-term strategy. After completing this stake, Bitmine’s total ETH staked has surged to 1,943,200.

Led by well-known ETH bull Tom Lee, the company is steadily advancing toward its “5% alchemy” goal, which is to accumulate 5% of Ethereum’s total circulating supply.

02 Capital Map

Bitmine’s ambitions go far beyond staking. According to its official press release issued on January 20, the company’s crypto asset portfolio is astonishingly large.

Its total crypto assets, cash, and the so-called “Moon Landing Plan” investment portfolio are valued at up to $14.5 billion.

Among them, Bitmine holds a total of 4,203,036 ETH, accounting for about 3.48% of Ethereum’s total supply at the time (approximately 120.7 million). This means the 171,264 ETH staked this time only represents a small portion of its total holdings.

Additionally, the company also holds 193 BTC, $979 million in cash, and a $220 million equity investment in Eightco Holdings. Recently, Bitmine announced an investment of $200 million in Beast Industries, owned by YouTube top influencer MrBeast.

03 Market Impact

Locking such a huge amount of assets from the circulating market has a direct impact on the Ethereum network itself. First, it further reduces the liquidity supply of ETH in the secondary market.

When a large amount of ETH is staked, it cannot be freely traded on the market within a certain period, which may support the price if demand remains unchanged or increases.

Bitmine’s move also highlights the trend of institutional capital seeking yields in a Proof-of-Stake environment. Through staking, institutions are no longer just speculators but also network maintainers and beneficiaries.

This move also consolidates Bitmine’s position as a top global Ethereum validator. According to Arkham’s analysis, with a conservative annualized yield of 2.8%, Bitmine can earn approximately $157 million in rewards annually from its current staked ETH.

If it stakes all its ETH holdings, the annualized return could exceed $374 million, equivalent to over $1 million in daily income.

04 Industry Trends

Bitmine is not an isolated case; it represents a broader industry trend: institutions are deeply involved in building the underlying infrastructure of the crypto economy.

The total staking rate of the Ethereum network recently hit a record high of about 29.57%. Meanwhile, the validator exit queue (i.e., ETH waiting to be unstaked) has dropped to zero, while new staking queues are increasing.

This indicates that more and more holders, especially institutions, are choosing to lock assets long-term for stable yields, reflecting confidence in Ethereum’s long-term value.

Tom Lee pointed out that the ETH-to-Bitcoin price ratio has been rising since mid-October last year, which he believes reflects investors recognizing that Wall Street is building asset tokenization and other use cases on Ethereum.

More than 35 major financial institutions have been listed as institutional adopters of Ethereum by the Ethereum Foundation in recent months.

05 Future Outlook

As Bitmine gradually approaches its 5% holding target, the market is also beginning to focus on the next question: what comes after? Tom Lee clearly stated that after reaching the goal, the company’s focus will shift from “accumulation” to “monetization.”

Large-scale staking will be the core monetization method. Bitmine is developing its own commercial staking solution, MAVAN (Made in America Validator Network), scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2026.

Regarding potential concerns about “centralization,” Tom Lee cited discussions with internal and Fundstrat, Standard Chartered Bank analysts, who believe that even holding up to 10% of the supply does not threaten Ethereum’s decentralization.

“If someone owns a 10% share of a system, they cannot control that system,” he said in a recent interview with Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood.

Future Outlook

As of January 23, ETH prices on the Gate platform continue to fluctuate. If you want to check real-time ETH prices and trade, you can visit the Gate platform at any time for the latest market data.

As Bitmine’s $5.73 billion ETH empire becomes more deeply embedded in Ethereum’s consensus layer, a larger institutional staking era is beginning.

Tom Lee’s vision is clear: transforming Bitmine from the largest ETH buyer into the network’s most powerful maintainer and the most stable yield earner.