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Bitmine shares jump 13% as Tom Lee pushes Ethereum Layer 2 thesis

Bitmine shares jump 13% as Tom Lee pushes Ethereum Layer 2 thesis

Bitmine said it holds 5.79 million ETH and nearly 4.9 million staked as Chairman Tom Lee argued Layer 2 growth, including Lighter, strengthens Ethereum’s role as a settlement layer.

ETH

Fact Check
Both components of the claim are backed by primary sources. Tom Lee's verified Fundstrat X post (2081783839567868130) explicitly calls Lighter 'a critical infrastructure layer for ethereum,' matching the claim verbatim. A separate Fundstrat post (2081213027207049473) and the Odaily newsflash confirm his position that Ethereum remains central as its main settlement layer despite Layer 2 growth. The BeInCrypto article corroborates and contextualizes the Lighter endorsement.
Summary

Bitmine Immersion Technologies shares rose 13% on Monday after the company said it holds 5.79 million ETH, or about 4.8% of Ethereum’s 120.7 million circulating supply, bringing it close to a 5% accumulation target. Chairman Tom Lee simultaneously broadened his public argument that Ethereum’s Layer 2 ecosystem reinforces, rather than weakens, the main network, calling perpetual futures decentralized exchange Lighter a "massive breakout success" and "a critical infrastructure layer for Ethereum." Bitmine said nearly 4.9 million ETH are staked through MAVAN, projecting $254 million in annualized staking revenue that could reach $299 million if the full position is staked. The company has also repurchased 11.6 million shares since July 1 under a $4 billion buyback program.

Terms & Concepts
  • Layer 2: A network built on top of Ethereum to improve speed or reduce costs while still relying on Ethereum for settlement.
  • staking: Locking tokens to support a blockchain network and earn rewards.
  • zero-knowledge proofs: Cryptographic methods that allow users to verify outcomes, such as trade processing, without exposing all underlying data.