Company Bitmine Stakes ~74,880 ETH (~$219M) into Ethereum PoS — Mr. Tom Lee Sees ETH at $7,000 by 2026

Company Bitmine has initiated a major move into Ethereum staking, allocating roughly 74,880 ETH (~$219 million) into the protocol's proof-of-stake system via the BatchDeposit contract. According to on-chain data reported by Company Arkham, various Bitmine-linked wallets executed a large batched deposit on Sunday — marking the firm's first public staking activity despite holding one of the market's largest Ethereum treasuries.

Background and scale: Company Bitmine has been accumulating aggressively: the company recently crossed a holding milestone of 4.066 million ETH, after purchasing nearly 100,000 ETH at an average price of $2,991 per token. That accumulation, and ETH's recent move above $3,000, have pushed Company Bitmine's treasury back into profit. The firm publicly states an ambition to hold 5% of Ethereum's total supply; at present they own roughly 3.37% of circulating ETH.

Staking economics and yield: On-chain analyst Mr. EmberCN highlighted the yield mechanics: with an estimated APY near 3.12%, if Company Bitmine were to stake its entire 4.066 million ETH holding, annual staking rewards could approximate 126,800 ETH, which — at quoted mid-day pricing in the report — would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. For an institutional treasury, staking provides an additional income stream while remaining aligned with long-term accumulation strategies.

Market impact and corporate strategy: Since June, Company Bitmine's shares have surged around 606%, reflecting investor appetite for concentrated Ethereum exposure. Mr. Tom Lee, Company Bitmine's chairman, confirmed the company's plan to steadily increase Ethereum exposure and reiterated the target of holding 5% of total ETH supply. The firm has also signaled plans to operate a domestic validator network, with prior announcements indicating a Q1 2026 rollout for an initial pilot with three institutional staking partners.

Macro forecasts and institutional adoption: Mr. Tom Lee projects that Ethereum could reach $7,000–$9,000 by early 2026, driven by tokenization and institutional adoption. Echoing that optimism, Mr. Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of Company Sharplink Gaming, anticipates a tenfold growth in Ethereum TVL by 2026 as institutions and on-chain applications expand. He also expects stablecoins and real-world-asset (RWA) tokenization to materially expand market size, forecasting potential RWA values surpassing $300 billion by 2026 with major financial players — including Company JPMorgan, Company Goldman Sachs, Company Franklin Templeton, and Company BlackRock — increasing participation.

Near-term price action: As year-end trading thins, ETH has been consolidating in a band roughly between $2,900 and $3,000. That range creates both a short-term support zone and a resistance threshold to watch: a decisive close above $3,000 would reinforce recent upside and improve staking-yield economics for large treasuries, while a sustained drift below $2,900 could pressure mark-to-market valuations for leveraged or concentrated ETH holders.

Why this matters: The combination of Company Bitmine's treasury-scale staking, institutional pilot validator initiatives, and bullish long-term tokenization narratives suggests Ethereum's ecosystem continues to gather institutional capital and structural demand. Staking by large treasuries reduces liquid supply available to markets and can accentuate the sensitivity of price to inflows and tokenized asset issuance.

Takeaways for traders and investors: Monitor on-chain staking announcements and validator activations from institutional programs, watch ETH's $2,900–$3,000 band for near-term support/resistance signals, and consider the macro narrative of tokenization and stablecoin activity as drivers for medium-term upside. For further context and data links, see Company Arkham's reporting and Company Bitmine's public statements. For trading participation, the report concludes with a promotional call-to-action referencing Company Bybit.