Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: $BMNR) bought an additional 15,112 Ethereum (CRYPTO: $ETH) over the past week.
The latest purchases bring the company’s total ETH holdings to 6,016,414, worth $16.33 billion U.S. as the price of Ethereum strengthens and trades at $2,714.62 U.S.
Bitmine, led by Chairman Tom Lee, is inching closer to reaching its goal of owning 5% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. It currently owns more than 4.9% of the world’s available ETH.
In a statement, Bitmine said that it has now staked 5,067,309 Ethereum, or 84% of its holdings.
The company projects an annualized yield of 2.63% and $363 million U.S. in annual staking income.
Staking is the process of locking up crypto in a Proof of Stake (POS) blockchain network to help validate transactions and secure the network in exchange for rewards such as cash.
Analysts liken crypto staking to earning interest on cash held in a bank savings account.
The average price of Bitmine’s Ethereum holdings now stands at $3,336 U.S., meaning that it is underwater on its holdings based on the current price of ETH.
Bitmine said it bought back 21 million shares of its common stock through three quarters of this year.
BMNR stock has declined 58% over the last 12 months to trade at $26.76 U.S. per share.
