Ethereum Gets A Billionaire Boost As Peter Thiel Backs Treasury Bet

The US Securities and Exchange Commission late Tuesday published a Schedule 13G filing that entities controlled by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund have quietly amassed 5,094,000 common shares of BitMine  Immersion  Technologies (NYSE American: BMNR), an Ethereum treasury company , equal to 9.1 percent of the company’s outstanding stock as of July 8 — the first time the billionaire venture capitalist has taken a material position in a publicly listed “Ethereum‑treasury” play. The filing lists the stake across six Delaware vehicles, but names Thiel as the ultimate manager with shared voting and dispositive power; it also checks the passive‑investor box, signalling no immediate intent to seek control of the Las Vegas‑based firm.

Ethereum Scores Major Backer

News of the disclosure sent BitMine shares up more than 12 percent to $44.97 in post‑market trading, adding roughly $280 million to a market capitalisation that has already ballooned. The after‑hours move extends a wild rally that saw the stock surge 3,000 percent in the week to July 3 after BitMine revealed a $250 million private placement earmarked entirely for Ethereum purchases and installed Fundstrat co‑founder Thomas “Tom” Lee as board chairman.

BitMine’s pace of accumulation has been even faster than its share‑price ascent. In a press release dated July 14 the company said it now holds 163,142 ETH — roughly $500 million at the time — barely three business days after closing the initial raise. “Since closing on the $250 million private placement, we have surpassed $500 million in Ethereum holdings, which validates our mission to increase our stake in the Ethereum network,” Lee said. Chief executive Jonathan Bates added that “Wall Street is getting ‘ETH‑pilled.’”

Lee, long known for his Bitcoin price targets, is positioning BitMine as the Ethereum analogue to MicroStrategy: a corporate balancesheet vehicle designed to scale into a strategic, yield‑bearing crypto reserve. “Among Bitcoin treasury companies we have witnessed the reflexive benefit of acquiring large holdings… Similarly, ETH treasuries which accumulate 5 percent of ETH supply can benefit from a comparable ‘Wall Street put,’” he argued in the same statement — invoking the idea that massive on‑balance‑sheet crypto positions can create a floor under the equity itself.

Thiel’s entrance adds marquee validation to that thesis. The 13G shows the purchase price was not disclosed, but the 5.1 million‑share block underscores the scale of the bet. Because the filing came under Rule 13d‑1(c), Thiel is signalling a passive stance — at least for now — yet his long‑standing interest in Ethereum is well documented: the Thiel Foundation’s 2014 fellowship famously bankrolled Vitalik Buterin’s decision to drop out of university to build the protocol.

The Ethereum community greeted the news with typical bombast. “ETH is going so much higher than you can even imagine,” wrote podcaster and on‑chain analyst @sassal0x. Bankless co‑founder Ryan Sean Adams confessed he “had not been bullish enough,” while macro trader Mortensen Bach urged followers to keep BitMine on their watchlists: “Things are starting to be interesting – This one should be on top of your watchlist. Question is? Do you buy in now in anticipation of ETH treasury doubling. What I mean is that if they increase ETH holding massively, it can grow into a much better valuation.”

Institutional appetite for Ethereum balance‑sheet strategies has accelerated in recent weeks. Corporate treasuries toward ETH‑staking as a yield‑bearing alternative to Bitcoin, with BitMine, Bit Digital and SharpLink have each experienced double‑digit stock pops after announcing similar plans.

At press time, ETH traded at $3,137.