BitMine Stock Gets a Bullish Upgrade, but a 4-Month Trap Still Holds

BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) stock jumped 12% on March 31 to close at $19.78, its strongest single-session gain in a while, as a sharp shift in options positioning coincided with B. Riley raising its price target to $33 from $30.

The move pushed BitMine stock close to the upper trendline of a descending channel that has contained the price since early December. However, the nature of the rally and the absence of institutional buying pressure raise the question of whether this attempt will succeed where prior ones failed.

A Short Squeeze Drove the 12% Move, Not Fresh Buying

The put-call ratio, which compares bearish put option volume to bullish call option volume, tells the story of what happened between Friday and Monday.

On March 27, the volume ratio spiked to 1.04, meaning put trading exceeded call trading for the first time in weeks. The open interest ratio sat at 0.47. That is aggressive bearish positioning heading into the weekend. By March 31, the volume ratio had collapsed to 0.52 while the open interest ratio remained flat at 0.47.

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The unchanged open interest means no significant new positions were opened. The volume ratio collapse means existing bearish bets were being closed. That combination points to a classic short squeeze where traders covering put positions drove the BMNR stock price higher rather than new buyers entering with fresh conviction.

If the put-call ratio now rises again alongside rising open interest, it would signal new bearish positions being opened against the rally, which could stall the move on sentiment. However, the squeeze coincided with a fundamental catalyst that could extend the bounce.

ETH Treasury Growth and B. Riley’s $33 Target Support the Bull Case

BitMine added 71,179 ETH last week, its largest weekly purchase of 2026. That five-week buying streak pushed total holdings to 4.73 million ETH, representing 3.92% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. The company’s total crypto and cash treasury now stands at $10.7 billion, with approximately $177 million in annualized staking revenue.

B. Riley raised its BitMine stock price target to $33 from $30 on March 26, maintaining a Buy rating. The firm cited the launch of MAVAN, BitMine’s institutional-grade Ethereum staking platform, and noted that approximately 67% of holdings are already staked with potential annualized rewards of roughly $285 million at full deployment.

With Ethereum up 3.6% over the past 24 hours, the BitMine stock price has an external tailwind. ETH strength directly benefits BitMine’s treasury valuation and staking revenue outlook.

Yet the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), a volume-weighted indicator that tracks institutional buying and selling pressure, remains below the zero line on the daily chart. Between February 23 and March 30, CMF trended lower alongside price.

That pattern shows large money has not backed this rally with sustained buying. The bounce is running on short covering and Ethereum momentum rather than direct institutional accumulation into BMNR shares.

BitMine Stock Still Needs $21 to Confirm a Channel Breakout

Despite the short squeeze and fundamental tailwinds, the daily chart shows BitMine stock pressing against the same upper trendline of a descending channel that has rejected every breakout attempt since December. Early January and mid-March also saw a failed attempt out of this 4-month trap.

A bullish divergence on the Relative Strength Index (RSI), a momentum indicator, does support the case for a broader reversal now. Between November 21 and March 30, price trended lower while RSI printed a higher low. That divergence suggests selling momentum is weakening even as price continued to fall. Combined with the Ethereum tailwind and MAVAN catalyst, it gives bulls a technical reason to stay engaged.

However, a daily close above $21.22 (the $21 zone) is needed to confirm that the upper trendline has broken. That level aligns with the 0.5 Fibonacci level and would represent a 7% move from the current close. A push above $22.01 would strengthen the breakout case and open a path toward $24.56 and potentially $28.69. Beyond that sits B. Riley’s upgraded target.

On the downside, failure to hold $19.46 would signal that the squeeze has exhausted itself. A close below $17.88 reopens the lower channel for BMNR stock and puts the $17.12 support at risk.

The $21 zone now separates a confirmed channel breakout fueled by ETH momentum and MAVAN staking revenue from another failed trendline rejection that sends BitMine stock price back toward $17.88.