South Korean retail investors have enthusiastically made BitMine Immersion Technologies Inc (BitMine) their top foreign equity pick, a Bloomberg report shows. Since early July, retail investors in South Korea have poured approximately $259 million into BitMine shares. Investors are increasingly drawn to the company’s bold pivot from Bitcoin mining to functioning as a digital-asset treasury with a massive Ethereum hoard.
Retail flock to high-reward crypto plays
With an Ethereum treasury valued at $3.6 billion, BitMine stands out for its direct exposure to digital assets without requiring investors to purchase cryptocurrencies themselves. It now boasts to be the largest publicly traded holder of ether (ETH) in the world. And they have no plans on hitting the brakes anytime soon; the company intends to acquire up to 5% of the entire supply of ether.
“BitMine moved with lightning speed in its pursuit of the ‘alchemy of 5%’ of ETH, growing our ETH holdings to over 833,000 from zero 35 days ago,”Tom Lee, BitMine’s chairman, said while outlining the company’s future plans.
Backing by the biggies
BitMine’s appeal is further bolstered by institutional credibility. Billionaire investor Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund holds a 9.1% stake in the firm. Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest also finds itself on the cap table. More recently, Bill Miller III, senior advisor to Miller Value Partners, has taken a “significant stake” in the company. With such big names involved, South Korea’s retail trading community also wants a piece of the pie.
But this trend is also telling, as it reflects South Korea’s appetite for high-risk, high-reward investments. For cautious investors, BitMine is a way to tap into crypto without the wild ride of owning coins directly. Its crypto exposure makes it a unique gateway, especially in markets like South Korea, where crypto trading enthusiasm remains extraordinarily high.