BitMine Launches Options Trading on NYSE

BitMine Immersion (ticker: BMNR), an Ethereum treasury and crypto mining company associated with Peter Thiel, has initiated options trading for its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The company also revealed plans to acquire 5% of the total ETH supply. "Options trading on the NYSE marks a significant milestone for BitMine, providing investors more opportunities to engage in our growth," said BitMine Chair Thomas Lee. "This move underscores rising confidence in our vision and supports our ambitious objective of becoming one of the largest institutional holders of Ethereum globally." Since announcing its shift towards accumulating ETH and listing on NYSE American in June, BitMine's stock has experienced a substantial increase, rising over 800% to a peak near $135 at the start of the month, according to CNBC. However, BMNR has dipped about 1% to around $39.72 at the time of writing. In late June, BitMine entered a private placement agreement to raise $250 million, shifting its focus from Bitcoin to ETH. As of a July 15 filing, the Founders Fund, linked to billionaire investor Peter Thiel, became the largest shareholder by acquiring a 9.1% stake in BitMine. On Wednesday, ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, purchased 4,773,444 common shares of BitMine worth $182 million, which will be fully invested in acquiring ETH. As of July 17, the company reportedly held over $1 billion in ETH, previously concentrating on proprietary bitcoin mining and hosting services. BitMine is among the largest corporate holders of ETH, along with other notable firms like Joe Lubin-backed SharpLink (SBET) and Andrew Keys-backed Ether Machine (ETHM), which was announced this week. Currently, ETH trades around $3,607, down approximately 2% on the day but up over 160% from lows set in April, as reported by The Block. Since May, ETFs and corporate treasuries have accumulated about 2.83 million ETH, significantly surpassing the amount created during the same period, according to Bitwise.