BitMine Stakes $6.5B in ETH As Institutional Staking Demand Surges

BitMine stakes $6.5B in ETH as institutional yield hunt heats up BitMine has just pushed a massive chunk of its Ethereum treasury into staking, locking up more than $6.5 billion worth of ETH as institutional demand for on-chain yield accelerates. The firm’s recent activity comes amid a broader period of muted crypto price action following the October 10 crash. What happened - Over the past hours BitMine added roughly 20,000 ETH to its staking program and staked another 209,540 ETH (about $610 million), bringing its total staked balance to more than 2.2 million ETH — roughly $6.5 billion, or 52% of its reported +4 million ETH holdings, according to X/Lookonchain. - That move follows growing staking demand for ETH after staking crossed the psychologically notable 30% share of total ETH supply, and as several U.S. spot ETH ETFs prepare to seek yield on their holdings. Market backdrop - The broader crypto market has struggled to regain bullish momentum since the October deleveraging event. Bitcoin decoupled from gold during that sell-off and has underperformed the precious metals rally through 2025 and into early 2026: while gold and silver printed fresh highs — cited at “above $5K and $110” in recent coverage — Bitcoin slipped to around $86k and could retest its recent low near $80.6k if weakness persists. - Ethereum has been range-bound between about $2.8k and $3.2k since November, and recently retested the $2.8k floor following Bitcoin’s dip. Why this matters - BitMine’s large-scale staking is a direct response to institutional yield-seeking and rising on-chain demand for staked ETH. At the same time, several on-chain metrics for ETH are strengthening: daily transaction counts hit new highs and average transfer costs have fallen to more competitive levels — bullish fundamentals that, in theory, should support ETH over time even if price action lags currently. Tom Lee’s take - Fundstrat founder and head of research Tom Lee pointed to the liquidation cascade in October and the metals rally as reasons for crypto’s muted prices. “The precious metals’ move has sucked a lot of oxygen out of the room. So crypto prices aren’t keeping up with fundamentals. But when fundamentals go to the right, prices do follow,” Lee said. - Lee — who also serves as chairman of BitMine Immersion, described here as the world’s largest ETH treasury firm — added that continued strength in gold and silver creates FOMO away from BTC, but when metals “take a break,” increased demand should rotate back into Bitcoin and Ethereum. Technical risk points ahead of Fed decision - On-chain liquidation maps highlight key weekly levels to watch ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision: $2.98k and $2.85k for ETH, representing important liquidity pools for leveraged shorts and longs. Historically, volatility and liquidity grabs tend to push prices toward these concentration points, according to Coinglass. Sources and note - Reporting draws on X/Lookonchain and Coinglass data, and analysis from Fundstrat/BitMine commentary. This content is informational and not investment advice — trading cryptocurrencies carries high risk, and readers should conduct their own research before making decisions. © 2026 AMBCrypto. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news