1 New Way to Invest in Cryptocurrency That Could Turn Your Crypto Portfolio Around in 2026

The cryptocurrency market cooled off over the past year as fears of higher interest rates and other macro headwinds drove investors toward more conservative investments. But over the past week, many of the top cryptocurrencies warmed up again as the U.S. debt crisis and the potential passage of the CLARITY Act pulled more investors back to the top tokens.

One of those winners was Ether (CRYPTO: ETH), the native token of the Ethereum blockchain and the world's second most valuable cryptocurrency after Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). After setting a record high above $4,900 last August, it sank to about $1,500 this June.

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But as of this writing, Ether has bounced back to nearly $2,500. The simplest way to play that recovery is to buy the token on a cryptocurrency exchange or invest in a leading exchange-traded fund (ETF). However, investing in Bitmine (NYSE: BMNR) -- the world's largest corporate holder of Ether -- could generate even bigger gains this year.

How much Ether does Bitmine own?

Bitmine was originally a Bitcoin miner, and it still holds 209 Bitcoins worth about $16.3 million. But last June, Fundstrat's Tom Lee joined Bitmine as its new chairman and directed its transformation into an Ether hoarder through its new "Alchemy of 5%" strategy.

That strategy called for Bitmine to accumulate 5% of Ether's entire circulating supply, making it the world's second-largest crypto treasury company after Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR). Today, Bitmine holds 5.85 million Ether tokens, or 4.8% of its total supply.

That position is worth $14.6 billion, which exceeds its enterprise value of $13.8 billion. It trades at a discount to its net asset value (NAV) because it continually issues additional shares to cover its Ether purchases and high-yield corporate obligations. But at the same time, it's staking its Ether to earn an average annualized yield of 2.7% -- which partly offsets all that pressure.

Why could Bitmine soar through the end of 2026?

Ether has plenty of catalysts on the horizon. As the digital fuel for the largest developer-oriented blockchain, Ether's value will rise as more decentralized apps are launched, more stablecoins are minted, and more real-world assets (RWAs) are tokenized on its platform. It will also benefit from the growing use of AI agents, which will need to rely on secure blockchains like Ethereum for identity verification and machine-to-machine payments.

As those catalysts kick in, Ether will attract more attention from institutional investors. If that happens by the end of the year as the macro environment improves, Bitmine -- which is still undervalued relative to its Ether holdings -- could outperform the token and its spot price ETFs.

Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.