Tom Lee’s $11 Billion Ethereum Treasury Firm BitMine Appoints New CEO

BitMine Immersion Technologies, the leading Ethereum treasury company with more than $11 billion worth of the cryptocurrency, announced Friday that it has appointed Chi Tsang as CEO and board member.

Tsang, who succeeds previous CEO Jonathan Bates, was recently the founder and Managing Partner of venture fund m1720, and had previously spent a decade at HSBC, where he finished in 2022 as Head of Asia and TMT Global Banking.

“The transformation and innovation now facing Wall Street through blockchain and Ethereum mirror the explosion of opportunity that mobile phones and the internet unleashed on telecoms and technology in the 1990s,” said Tsang, in a statement. “With its substantial Ethereum holdings and credibility with both Wall Street and the Ethereum ecosystem, BitMine is positioned to become a leading financial institution.”

The firm also appointed a trio of new board members in Robert Sechan, Olivia Howe, and Jason Edgeworth.

BitMine Chairman Tom Lee, who has been the face of BitMine since its Ethereum pivot earlier this year, said in a statement that the new appointments “bring a unique blend of experience, insight, and leadership across technology, DeFi, and financial services, enabling BitMine to further position itself as the bridge between traditional capital markets and the supercycle Ethereum ecosystem.”

Shares of BMNR are down about 4% on the day, recently changing hands just over $35. The firm’s stock has fallen nearly 34% over the last month as crypto prices fall, diminishing the value of the company’s ETH stash.

As of Monday, the company holds over 3.5 million ETH, currently valued around $11.2 billion, making it the largest corporate holder of Ethereum by far—significantly outpacing runner-up SharpLink Gaming, with about $2.75 billion worth.

Ethereum is down 5.5% over the last day to a recent price of $3,200, pushing its 30-day plunge to more than 20%. The price of ETH has fallen by 35% since the asset hit a new all-time high price just shy of $5,000 in August.

Users on Myriad—a prediction market platform operated by Decrypt‘s parent company, Dastan—remain slightly optimistic about Ethereum’s next move, giving a nearly 53% chance that ETH is more likely to rise to $4,000 next rather than fall to $2,500.

Earlier this week, Myriad users penciled in a 77% chance of a rise to $4,000.