Ethereum treasury firm Bitmine has begun staking Ether (ETH) after transferring nearly $219 million worth of ETH to staking-related contracts on the Ethereum network.
On Sunday, multiple wallets linked to Bitmine sent a total of 74,880 Ether to a contract labeled “BatchDeposit,” a transaction pattern commonly associated with institutional staking setups that aggregate funds ahead of validator creation, onchain data from Arkham shows.
“The largest Ethereum treasury company Bitmine (BMNR) has finally started attempting to stake its held ETH to earn interest income,” EmberCN said in a post on X.
“This is their first time staking, and they now hold 4.066 million ETH, with an approximate APY of 3.12%. If all of it were staked, they could earn about 126,800 ETH in interest over a year, which at the current price of $2,927 would be worth $371 million,” the onchain analyst said.
Related: Ethereum’s tokenization role takes focus as Tom Lee outlines bullish outlook
Bitmine’s Ether treasury surpasses 4 million tokens
The deposits come as Bitmine’s Ether treasury surpassed 4 million tokens for the first time. The firm confirmed earlier this week that its holdings now exceed 4.06 million ETH following its latest $40 million purchase.
Over the past week, Bitmine added nearly 100,000 ETH to its balance at an average purchase price of $2,991 per token.
In November, Bitmine said it plans to begin Ether staking in the first quarter of 2026 through a dedicated in-house setup called the Made-in America Validator Network (MAVAN). At the time, the company said it has selected three institutional staking providers for a pilot program, using a small portion of its ETH to test performance, security and operational quality before scaling.
Related: Ethereum unlikely to reach new highs in 2026: Ben Cowen
Ethereum TVL could jump 10× in 2026
Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL) could increase tenfold in 2026 as institutional participation expands and new on-chain use cases gain traction, according to Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of Sharplink Gaming. Sharplink is the second-largest public Ethereum treasury holder, with nearly 798,000 ETH worth about $2.33 billion.
Chalom pointed to stablecoins as a key driver, predicting the market will reach $500 billion by the end of next year, up roughly 62% from current levels. With more than half of stablecoin activity already occurring on Ethereum, sustained issuance and transaction growth could significantly lift the network’s TVL.
Magazine: 2026 is the year of pragmatic privacy in crypto — Canton, Zcash and more
