BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), chaired by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, is facing massive unrealized (paper) losses on its Ethereum treasury holdings amid the ongoing crypto market downturn.
The company holds around 4.24–4.285 million ETH roughly 3.5% of circulating supply, with an average acquisition cost of about $3,825–$3,883 per ETH. At current ETH prices around $2,200–$2,350 recently, these holdings are valued at approximately $9.6–$9.9 billion, resulting in unrealized losses reported between $6 billion and approaching or exceeding $7 billion in some estimates—making it one of the largest such paper losses in trading history for a public entity.
BitMine has continued aggressively buying the dip adding 41,000–41,788 ETH in the past week and stakes a large portion (2.9 million ETH, generating $164 million in annual staking yield or ~$1 million daily cash flow). The firm remains debt-free, with significant cash reserves ($586 million) and other assets.
Tom Lee has defended the strategy, calling the losses “a feature, not a bug” of its Ethereum treasury approach—designed to track and outperform ETH over full market cycles, similar to an index ETF enduring drawdowns. He views short-term declines as expected, not a flaw, and maintains strong long-term conviction in ETH as “the future of finance.”
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Critics have raised concerns about potential future selling pressure, but Lee argues this misunderstands the low-leverage, high-staking, spot-holding model. The news has contributed to pressure on BMNR stock down significantly in recent sessions and broader ETH sentiment, though the company keeps accumulating.
Arbitrum DAO’s X Account Gets Compromised
The official governance X account for Arbitrum DAO was compromised. Hackers used it to post unauthorized content, including promotions for a fake airdrop, “snapshot confirmation” claims, and phishing links to third-party sites—pinned and reshared for visibility to trick users.
Arbitrum’s main account (@arbitrum) quickly issued a security alert: SECURITY ALERT The @arbitrumdao_gov account has been compromised. Do not click any links or interact with posts from that account until further notice. We are working to recover access. Updates to follow.
The team emphasized that the breach was limited to the social media account—no impact on the Arbitrum protocol, governance systems, or user funds occurred. Control was regained shortly after (by February 4), with promises to review and strengthen security protocols for communication channels.
This caused a brief dip in the $ARB token price due to the scare, but it stabilized quickly. The incident highlights ongoing risks with social media accounts in crypto often targeted via phishing, but the core Layer-2 network remains secure. Users were urged to verify info through official channels and avoid suspicious links.
These events reflect broader market volatility (ETH/BTC drawdowns) and persistent security challenges in the space. ETH has faced significant pressure in the ongoing crypto downturn, trading in the $2,200–$2,400 range recently down sharply from peaks above $3,000–$5,000 in prior periods.
This has led to massive unrealized (paper) losses on BitMine’s holdings: Average acquisition cost: Roughly $3,800–$4,000 per ETH from aggressive buys in higher-price environments. Around $9.6–$9.9 billion, resulting in unrealized losses estimated at $6–$6.9 billion some reports approached or exceeded $7 billion depending on exact timing and price.
Tom Lee has directly addressed criticism (e.g., claims of being “exit liquidity” for early ETH holders or that future sales could cap ETH prices): He calls the drawdowns “a feature, not a bug” — just like index ETFs or trackers experience losses in bear markets without it being a flaw.
The strategy is built for full cycles: Accumulate through downturns, earn staking yield, and benefit from eventual recoveries. Lee maintains strong conviction: Ethereum is “the future of finance”, with strengthening fundamentals not matching the price weakness, which he attributes more to non-fundamental factors like broader deleveraging or gold/silver rallies pulling risk appetite.