BitMine announces 2026 ETH staking plans as market melts down

BitMine, a crypto treasury company that accumulates Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC), said on Friday it plans to launch the “Made in America Validator Network” (MAVAN) to stake its ETH holdings. 

The company is piloting MAVAN with three staking infrastructure providers, ahead of the launch slated for the first quarter of 2026, according to an announcement from BitMine.

Staking tokens to validate proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains secures networks and generates revenue in the form of staking rewards paid out in the native token of the blockchain network, in this case, ETH.

“At scale, we believe our strategy will best serve the long-term best interests of our shareholders,” BitMine chairman Tom Lee said.

The announcement came amid a broad downturn in the crypto market and crypto treasury companies, which are experiencing a collapse in their multiple on-net asset value (mNAV), a critical metric tracking the price premium placed on a crypto treasury company’s stock.

Related: Tom Lee speculates wounded market makers behind crypto crunch

BitMine suffers alongside plummeting ETH prices and market collapse

BitMine is sitting on over $3.7 billion in unrealized losses due to plummeting ETH prices, according to a report from research company 10x Research.

The report, published on Thursday, used an ETH price of $3,023, but the ETH decline extended on Friday, driving the price down to about $2,700 at the time of writing. 

The price decline means the company is now more than $1,000 underwater on each ETH it holds, after accumulating the asset during its run-up to all-time highs during July and August.

ETH’s crash below $3,000 wiped away a year’s worth of gains for crypto treasury companies holding it and could lead to more financial stress for these companies if the price declines further.