BitMine Immersion chairman Tom Lee defended this week the more than $6 billion in unrealized losses on its balance sheet, describing them as an expected outcome. According to the executive, his Ethereum treasury strategy is designed to track the asset’s price and outperform it over a full market cycle, without representing any operational failure or execution flaw.
Despite criticism regarding the recent decline in the value of its holdings, the firm has maintained a steady accumulation of cryptocurrency to strengthen its institutional position. With holdings now reaching 4.24 million ETH, the chairman argues that these negative paper fluctuations are, in fact, an intrinsic feature of their aggressive long-term investment model.
The accumulation model and the bet on institutional staking
The company, which has pivoted its business model toward digital reserve management, currently values its holdings at approximately $9.6 billion following the latest market adjustment. However, by integrating projected staking revenues estimated at $164 million annually, the firm seeks to mitigate the impact of volatility through native network yields.
On the other hand, the board has compared its structure to that of an index-style product, where temporary losses are unavoidable during market corrections. Furthermore, Lee emphasized that the Ethereum treasury strategy prioritizes long-term permanence over short-term tactical trading, as this approach seeks to capture the future revaluation of the global financial infrastructure.
As the market undergoes a deleveraging phase that could extend into early 2026, BitMine has continued to expand its token purchases during the downturn. Thus, the company reinforces its thesis that the network represents the future of finance, using every correction to consolidate its dominance over the supply of the circulating asset.
How does the current market deleveraging affect corporate reserves?
This environment of selling pressure raises questions about the resilience of companies that hold digital assets on their balances without tactical hedges. However, Tom Lee maintains that the transparency in the execution of its treasury plan should build confidence among forward-looking shareholders. The executive questions whether traditional index funds face the same level of scrutiny during similar market declines.
Additionally, the sheer scale of BitMine’s holdings means that any price movement has a disproportionate effect on its quarterly reported financial results. Nonetheless, as it lacks structured debt directly tied to the asset’s liquidation value, the firm possesses a superior maneuverability margin compared to other competitors that utilize excessive leverage in their operations.
Therefore, the company’s stability will depend on the recovery of the technology sector and Ethereum’s ability to maintain its utility in tokenization. BitMine’s leadership is confident that at the end of the current cycle, the Ethereum treasury strategy will prove to be a sound architectural decision, positioning the entity as a fundamental pillar of the new digital financial system.
