Close-up of a physical Ethereum coin on fiat coins for a BitMine Ethereum treasury story.

BitMine’s Ethereum Treasury Is Down $8.9 Billion. Now It Wants to Sell Preferred Stock.

By Isaac • June 3, 2026 9:34 pm • Comments

BitMine, the largest public holder of Ethereum, is sitting on an estimated $8.9 billion unrealized loss after ETH dropped below $1,800.

The company holds more than 5.4 million ETH, roughly 4.5% of the circulating supply. That stash is worth about $10 billion at current prices.

Ethereum still ranks as the #2 crypto asset by market cap on CoinGecko. The asset itself is not in question.

Trending: Ether Loses $2,000 and Now the $1,800 Line Is the Real Test

The size of the bet built on top of it is.

BitMine shares fell another 5.9% Wednesday, slipping below $17 and extending their decline to 28% since early May. That is the lowest the stock has traded since the company adopted its Ethereum treasury strategy in 2025.

The chairman behind the strategy is Tom Lee, the longtime Wall Street bull. His public calls on Ethereum have stayed optimistic while the market moved the other way.

CoinDesk laid out how deep the hole runs:

Bitmine, the largest Ethereum treasury firm, is sitting on an estimated $8.9 billion in unrealized losses as ETH fell below $1,800 in the latest crypto pullback. The company’s shares hit their lowest level since it adopted its Ethereum treasury strategy in 2025.

The selloff highlights the growing gap between Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee’s bullish calls and current market weakness. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, the largest corporate holder of ether, is staring at nearly $9 billion in losses as the token’s slide below $1,800 drags down the value of its massive treasury.

Shares of the Tom Lee-chaired company fell another 5.9% Wednesday, slipping below $17 and extending their decline to 28% since early May. Under Lee’s leadership, Bitmine has amassed more than 5.4 million ETH, or roughly 4.5% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, in roughly a year.

That position is worth about $10 billion at current prices. Those holdings, however, are now deeply underwater, carrying an estimated $8.9 billion in unrealized losses, according to data collected by DropsTab.

Here is the part that tests the model. BitMine is proposing 3 million shares of 9.50% Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, aiming to raise up to $300 million.

The shares would trade on the NYSE under the ticker BMNP, pending approval. Proceeds may go toward buying more ETH.

This is the Michael Saylor playbook. Strategy pioneered using preferred stock and convertible debt to fund a digital asset treasury, and BitMine is running the same route with Ethereum instead of Bitcoin.

A 9.50% perpetual dividend is expensive money. It tells you what investors now demand to fund a crypto treasury equity that is down badly and underwater on its core holding.

The macro backdrop is not helping. Spot crypto ETFs have been bleeding for weeks.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs logged 12 straight days of outflows, and spot Ethereum ETFs extended their streak to 16 days. Institutional money is stepping back from the same assets BitMine is doubling down on.

None of this breaks Ethereum, and it does not break the treasury model on its own. A perpetual preferred raise during a drawdown is exactly when the structure gets stress-tested.

BitMine made an aggressive bet on the second-largest crypto asset and is now defending it through a down market. Whether the funding playbook holds when the underlying token is falling is the real question, and the next few raises will answer it.

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