BitMine Immersion Technologies has purchased 28,086 ETH worth about $70.1 million, raising its Ethereum treasury to 5.93 million tokens as Chairman Tom Lee predicts further gains for the asset.

BitMine’s Ethereum treasury has reached 5.93 million ETH

BitMine said in a Sep. 8 treasury update that it held 5,929,198 ETH as of Sep. 7, following the purchase of 28,086 tokens during the previous week.

Using the company’s reference price of $2,495, the latest acquisition was worth approximately $70.1 million. Its entire Ethereum position carried a value of about $14.79 billion at the same price, although the balance-sheet value will change alongside ETH.

“Over the past week, we acquired 28,086 ETH,” Lee said.

The purchase extended a run that began when BitMine adopted its Ethereum treasury strategy on June 30, 2025. According to Lee, the company has added ETH every week since the plan started.

As crypto.news reported on Aug. 31, BitMine had previously added 53,501 ETH, taking its balance to 5,901,112 tokens. Earlier weekly purchases included 9,926 ETH during the period ending Aug. 16 and another 32,447 ETH in the following update.

Based on the 122 million ETH supply used in the latest announcement, BitMine now controls about 4.9% of all tokens. The company said it has completed 97% of its plan to own 5% of the supply, a target it calls the “Alchemy of 5%.”

Reaching exactly 5% under the company’s current supply estimate would require approximately 6.1 million ETH. BitMine therefore remains about 170,802 ETH below that level, though the required amount can change as Ethereum’s total supply moves.

Beyond Ethereum, the Sep. 7 balance sheet included 211 Bitcoin, $593 million in cash and marketable securities, a $180 million stake in Beast Industries, and a $91 million investment in Eightco Holdings. BitMine valued its combined crypto, cash, securities, and strategic investments at $15.7 billion.

Staked ETH could generate $330 million per year

Alongside its weekly purchases, BitMine reported that 5,067,309 ETH had been placed into staking through its Made in America Validator Network and external staking partners. The staked position was worth roughly $12.6 billion at the company’s reference price and represented about 85% of its Ethereum holdings.

Management estimated annualized staking revenue of approximately $330 million based on a seven-day annualized yield of 2.61%. If BitMine eventually stakes its full ETH balance through MAVAN and partner validators, the company projects annual rewards of about $386 million under the same yield assumption.

Both figures are projections rather than fixed revenue. Ethereum staking returns can change with network participation, validator performance, protocol rules, and the market price of ETH.

BitMine launched MAVAN earlier in 2026 to support its own treasury. According to the latest announcement, the platform has since expanded its services to institutional investors, custodians, and other Ethereum market participants.

Staking has already become an important source of operating revenue for the company. A previous treasury report showed that BitMine earned $45.7 million from staking and validation during the three months ended May 31, accounting for about 98% of its reported $46.5 million in quarterly revenue.

The same income stream supports BitMine’s preferred-stock structure. Its 9.50% Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the BMNP ticker, while Lee has previously said staking income could help fund preferred-share dividend payments.

Tom Lee sees tokenization and AI supporting Ethereum

While BitMine continued buying, Lee maintained his bullish view on Ethereum and other large cryptocurrencies. He said ETH had been the best-performing macro asset during the third quarter through Sep. 4, beating the S&P 500 by 5,430 basis points.

Lee also identified ETH, Bitcoin, and Solana as the three strongest-performing assets since June 30. Based on that performance, he argued that institutional fund managers may consider increasing their exposure to digital assets, though the statement represents his market view rather than confirmed purchasing activity.

“We believe there are multiple positive catalysts as we head into the final months of 2026,” Lee said.

Among the factors named by Lee were an expected mid-September vote on the CLARITY Act, renewed crypto purchases by South Korean investors, financial-asset tokenization, and the use of blockchain networks by AI agents. The announced timing of the congressional vote was presented by Lee and should not be treated as a guaranteed legislative schedule.

Lee expects tokenization and AI-related activity to increase the use of Ethereum compared with Bitcoin. In August, he also linked Ethereum demand to the same two sectors while predicting that ETH would outperform Bitcoin during the current market cycle.

According to his framework, initial coin offerings supported Ethereum during the 2017–2018 cycle, NFTs drove activity in 2020–2021, and stablecoins played a central role in 2025. Lee believes tokenized assets and blockchain-based AI agents could serve a similar role during the next period of ETH growth.

Ethereum’s recent price performance has added support to his case. During the week ending Aug. 24, ETH gained 29.3%, compared with a 21.4% increase for Bitcoin over the same period.

Tom DeMark, founder of DeMark Analytics and an adviser to BitMine, offered a separate technical view in the company’s update. He said ETH traded sideways through August without breaking lower, allowing a 12-day bearish signal to expire.

“We believe this further supports the continuation of the prior uptrend,” DeMark said, adding that the sharp one-day rally in the previous week may have provided a preview of the move he expects next. His assessment remains a forecast and does not guarantee another ETH rally.

BMNR gives U.S. investors indirect Ethereum exposure

For U.S. investors, BitMine provides publicly traded exposure to a company whose balance sheet is largely tied to Ethereum. Fundstrat reported in August that BMNR had an 80% correlation with ETH in its comparison of 17 large-cap crypto-linked stocks, though the firm did not disclose the measurement period used for the calculation.

BMNR has gained 99% during the third quarter, according to BitMine, making it the fourth-best-performing stock in the Russell 1000 during that period. The index itself gained 3%, while four crypto-related companies ranked among its 21 strongest performers, the company said.

BitMine entered the Russell 1000 large-cap index on June 26. According to Fundstrat data cited by the company, BMNR recorded an average daily trading volume of $1.1 billion during the five sessions ending Sep. 4, ranking 81st among 5,704 U.S.-listed stocks.

The company’s figures show that BMNR’s exposure extends beyond changes in the ETH price because staking income, operating expenses, financing decisions, and its other investments can also affect the stock. Its $15.7 billion reported asset total included the Beast Industries and Eightco positions as well as cash, Bitcoin, and marketable securities.

BitMine also said its Ethereum holdings made it the world’s largest corporate ETH treasury and the second-largest cryptocurrency treasury overall, behind Strategy. The company cited Strategy’s reported balance of 840,447 BTC, valued at approximately $66 billion.

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US Senator Cynthia Lummis has warned that Congress could lose its next realistic opportunity to pass comprehensive crypto market-structure legislation until 2030 if the CLARITY Act fails during the current session.

The Wyoming Republican is urging lawmakers to complete work on the bill as the Senate prepares for a key procedural vote on September 15. The legislation is intended to establish clearer rules for digital assets and define the responsibilities of federal regulators.

Key Takeaways

• Cynthia Lummis says failure to pass the CLARITY Act could push crypto market-structure legislation to 2030.
• The Senate is scheduled to hold a procedural vote on the bill on September 15.
• The measure needs 60 votes to advance in the Senate.
• The CLARITY Act seeks to clarify SEC and CFTC oversight of digital assets and strengthen customer protections.
• Lummis warns that another delay could cost the US jobs, investment and tax revenue.

Lummis Warns Congress Could Lose Years of Progress

Lummis said the current Congress represents an important opportunity to establish a federal framework for the cryptocurrency industry.

“If the Clarity Act doesn’t pass this Congress, the next real opportunity to bring market structure legislation back up is 2030,” she said.

The senator argued that waiting several more years could have economic consequences, particularly if businesses and investors continue operating under a fragmented regulatory system.

The warning comes as lawmakers approach the September 15 Senate vote. The procedural step requires 60 votes to move the legislation forward, meaning Republicans will need support from Democrats and independents.

Clarity Act Faces a Tight Legislative Schedule

Meanwhile, the bill has already cleared several major stages in Congress. The House passed its version in July 2025, while the Senate Banking Committee approved the Senate version by a 15-9 vote in May 2026.

However, the legislation still faces disagreements over issues including stablecoin rewards, decentralized finance and the limits of federal oversight.

The timing has also become a concern. The House has canceled some September sessions, leaving lawmakers with fewer opportunities to consider the legislation if it eventually returns from the Senate.

A successful Senate procedural vote would not make the CLARITY Act law. The bill would still have to clear the remaining legislative hurdles before reaching President Donald Trump.

What the Clarity Act Would Change

Notably, the proposed legislation would establish clearer boundaries between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission when regulating digital assets.

It also contains provisions aimed at protecting customers when cryptocurrency companies fail.

Lummis has argued that digital assets held for customers should receive stronger legal protection if an exchange enters bankruptcy. Under the proposed framework, certain digital commodities would be treated as customer property rather than assets available to satisfy an exchange’s creditors.

That could reduce uncertainty for both cryptocurrency businesses and their customers.

2030 Could Become the Next Major Window

That said, Lummis’s warning is tied partly to the upcoming US elections, which could change the makeup of Congress and alter the priorities of lawmakers and committee leaders.

If the CLARITY Act fails now, supporters could have to rebuild bipartisan support and restart negotiations under a new Congress.

Other lawmakers and industry executives have also called for the legislation to move forward, but disagreements remain over several provisions.

For the crypto industry, the September 15 vote is therefore only one step in a much longer process. If Congress cannot complete the legislation this year, Lummis believes the next serious opportunity may not arrive until 2030.

The House killed eight voting days, Polymarket odds crashed from 82% to 16%, and the ethics clause nobody can agree on may bury the most important crypto bill in a generation.

The CLARITY Act was supposed to be the easy one. After the GENIUS Act cleared both chambers and became law in July 2025, the crypto industry expected the market structure companion bill to follow within months. Fourteen months later, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act sits in a procedural limbo that would have been unimaginable when prediction markets gave it an 82% chance of passage in February.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on the motion to proceed just before the August 7 recess, setting up a procedural vote for Tuesday, September 15. That vote requires 60 senators to agree to even begin debating the bill. It is not a vote on the legislation itself. And between the filing and the return, the House went and blew a hole in the calendar that may have made the Senate vote irrelevant.

On September 3, House Republican leaders announced they were removing the weeks of September 21 and September 28 from the voting schedule. Eight days, gone. Representatives will return after Labor Day on September 14, work four days, and leave Washington on September 17. They will not come back until after the midterm elections on November 3. For a bill that still needs floor time in both chambers, that is not a scheduling inconvenience. It is a death sentence on the timeline.

The 60-vote math that does not work

The Senate cloture threshold has always been the CLARITY Act’s central obstacle. Republicans hold 53 seats, meaning Thune needs at least seven Democrats to cross over. In the Banking Committee markup, only two did. The gap between two and seven might look manageable on paper. In practice, it represents a chasm that five months of negotiation have failed to bridge.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has said she supports federal crypto legislation in principle but firmly opposes the current bill, arguing it fails to address corruption, consumer protection, and national security. Senators Chris Murphy, Chris Van Hollen, and Jeff Merkley have taken similar public positions. That is four confirmed Democratic no votes already eating into the margin.

The math gets worse when you consider what those seven crossover votes would require. Every Democrat who votes yes will face attack ads accusing them of supporting a bill that benefits President Trump’s crypto portfolio. In a midterm year, that is not abstract political risk. It is a concrete calculation that every campaign manager in a competitive district is making right now.

Republicans, meanwhile, are dealing with their own fragility. Galaxy Digital’s August analysis noted that the party expects to lose Senators Josh Hawley and Rand Paul on procedural grounds, bringing the effective Republican count closer to 51. If even one additional Republican defects, Thune would need nine Democratic votes instead of seven.

The ethics clause that broke the coalition

If the CLARITY Act fails, the cause of death will almost certainly be Section 13152.

The ethics provision, added to the July 22 draft, bans the president, vice president, and members of Congress from issuing or sponsoring digital assets while in office. Their spouses are covered too. The Department of Justice would enforce the restriction with fines of up to $250,000 per day. On its face, it reads like a reasonable safeguard. In practice, it has become the provision that three different constituencies can each find a reason to reject.

Bitcoin’s near-term holder “whales” are sitting on paper profits at levels not seen before, and the margin for turning those gains into selling pressure is shrinking as BTC trades closer to key break-even levels. New on-chain analysis from CryptoQuant highlights both the scale of unrealized profit among short-term holders and the way quickly that profitability can evaporate when prices dip.

At the same time, exchange-side data points to Binance reserves hovering near a two-year high, reinforcing the idea that any upside move will have to contend with readily available BTC supply. For traders and market participants, the combination matters: record unrealized gains can create a fast-moving sell response, while concentrated reserves can affect how easily spot demand translates into sustained price strength.

Key takeaways

• CryptoQuant data shows short-term holder (STH) whale unrealized profits surged to $9.07 billion on Sept. 4, the largest reading since its whale-profit tracking began in 2016.
• That profitability is highly sensitive to price swings—CryptoQuant reports STH whale unrealized profit fell about 17% the day after BTC/USD dropped just under 2%.
• Binance BTC reserves climbed to 691,658 BTC on Sept. 2, the highest level since November 2024, approaching a two-year peak.
• CryptoQuant characterizes whale participation in exchange inflows as “relatively contained,” but the elevated reserve base raises the stakes for any sustained breakout above $83,000.

Why short-term holder whales may be more likely to sell

CryptoQuant defines short-term holders as wallets holding BTC for less than six months. In its latest analysis, the firm reports that this cohort’s aggregate unrealized profit has pushed above $9 billion, with the STH whale category reaching $9.07 billion on Sept. 4. CryptoQuant says this is the highest figure it has recorded since it began tracking whale profitability in 2016.

Importantly, the analysis emphasizes that STH whales are not just sitting on gains—they are sitting on gains that are closely tied to the current spot price. CryptoQuant notes that STH whale breakeven levels are nearer to the market price than the breakeven levels for long-term holders (LTHs). As a result, even small daily movements can shift the cost-basis picture quickly.

CryptoQuant also points to real-time sensitivity. After Sept. 4, as BTC/USD declined by just under 2%, the STH whale unrealized profit fell roughly 17% the following day. CryptoQuant ties that drop to the structure of STH breakevens: with the cost basis around $69,000, losses or reduced profit potential can emerge rapidly as price fluctuates.

CryptoQuant warned that unrealized profit at that scale can become “exposure” and that STH whales are historically among the fastest cohorts to take profit when gains are visible.

For investors, the practical takeaway is straightforward: a record paper-profit situation can still translate into real selling if BTC dips just enough to bring those investors closer to their own decision points. The question becomes whether any pullback is large or prolonged enough to trigger that behavior broadly across the STH whale cohort.

Exchange reserves rise as traders watch $83,000

Beyond whale profitability, exchange inflows and reserves offer another lens into near-term supply dynamics. The on-chain thread in the analysis points to increased BTC movement toward exchanges since early May, and it highlights Binance specifically.

According to the on-chain figures cited by CryptoQuant, Binance BTC reserves reached 691,658 BTC on Sept. 2—its highest level since November 2024 and close to a two-year high. In other words, the market appears to have accumulated a large “buffer” of BTC at a major venue even as price action has remained constrained.

This matters because exchange reserves can affect the effort required for upside. If a price breakout begins to attract buyers, sellers with coins already on-exchange can respond quickly, increasing the supply that spot demand must absorb. CryptoQuant frames the market tension in those terms while focusing on a key level: $83,000.

CryptoQuant argues that Binance liquidity and positioning look orderly, but the elevated reserve base means any meaningful move above $83K would likely require “strong, sustained spot absorption” to clear available supply—something that depends on more than short bursts of buying.

Spot absorption still looks like the missing ingredient

The analysis also ties these reserve and profit dynamics to a broader theme: Bitcoin spot demand. CryptoQuant reiterates that the key question remains whether spot demand can return decisively. The report referenced in the article suggests that, during 2026, spot demand has been insufficient relative to what’s needed to drive a clean supply-clearing cycle.

That backdrop matters for how traders interpret whale signals. If spot demand is strong and persistent, even large reserve bases may not translate into immediate selling pressure, because higher buying activity can outpace the supply ready on-exchange. If spot demand remains weak or intermittent, then elevated reserves coupled with whale cohorts holding record paper gains can create a market where dips are more likely to stimulate profit-taking.

What to watch next

With STH whale unrealized profits at a record high and Binance reserves near multi-year levels, the next decisive test is whether BTC can sustain strength above the $83,000 area without triggering renewed profit-taking from short-term holders. Market participants should watch both the direction of BTC spot demand and whether further price softness leads to additional exchange inflows that would keep liquidity “ready” at major venues.

XRP futures volume surged to a six-month high in August. Binance, Bybit, and OKX together processed $64.6 billion in XRP contracts. The rally pushed XRP up nearly 30% for the month.

Binance Leads Record XRP Futures Volume

Binance processed roughly $37 billion in XRP futures during August. That figure represents about 57% of total volume across three exchanges. Bybit followed with $14.54 billion, while OKX cleared $12.88 billion.

Price action fueled much of the surge in XRP trading. XRP climbed from $1.06 early in August to $1.50 by August 24. The token then settled near $1.35 as the month closed.

Spot markets mirrored the futures rally and confirmed the trend. Spot XRP volume also hit a six-month high across major exchanges. Binance again led spot activity, followed by Upbit and Bithumb.

Institutional Interest Shifts Toward Regulated XRP Venues

CME overtook Binance as the largest venue for XRP open interest. CME open interest reached near $530 million, compared with Binance at $510 million. Offshore exchanges, however, still dominate raw XRP trading volume.

Institutional players continued to build positions in XRP-linked products. Citadel expanded its bullish XRP ETF holdings during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs also reclaimed its spot as a top XRP ETF holder.

Combined spot XRP ETF assets stood near $1.48 billion by month-end. Cumulative inflows into XRP ETFs approached $1.7 billion during the period. These flows gave trading desks reason to hedge and warehouse inventory.

Crowded Positioning Raises Risk for XRP Traders

Rising volume alone does not confirm a bullish direction for XRP. Analysts note that turnover can reflect covering, new shorts, or hedging activity. Traders must therefore separate raw volume data from actual positioning.

XRP’s leverage ratio on Binance reached 0.213, a seven-month high. Open interest grew crowded near $3.4 billion to $3.5 billion in size. That concentration adds risk ahead of a key regulatory vote.

Ripple re-locked 700 million XRP after its scheduled monthly unlock event. This escrow move reduced near-term sell pressure on XRP supply. Meanwhile, the XRPL 3.3.0 upgrade advances toward mid-September activation.

The US Treasury’s planned $22 billion debt buyback added a macro tailwind. Broader crypto markets turned bullish alongside the XRP derivatives buildup. The Senate’s CLARITY Act cloture vote on September 15 looms next.

Robinhood has agreed to take equity stakes in Crypto.com and its newly spun-off prediction markets platform, OG.com, in a multi-year arrangement designed to bolster Robinhood’s event-contract infrastructure in the United States. The move links Robinhood’s expanding prediction markets business to OG.com’s CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange and clearinghouse.

As part of the deal, Robinhood will route retail event contracts through OG.com’s infrastructure. A rollout is set to begin Tuesday for eligible US customers, according to Robinhood’s announcement carried by PR Newswire.

Key takeaways

• Robinhood will use OG.com’s CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange and clearinghouse to process retail event contracts.
• Robinhood is taking equity stakes in both Crypto.com and OG.com, but the companies did not disclose the size or value of the holdings.
• The equity stakes are priced using valuations established by an earlier Citadel Securities investment in the platforms.
• The agreement arrives shortly after OG.com’s spin-off from Crypto.com and follows recent reporting that Robinhood was exploring ways to expand prediction markets.

Robinhood’s event-contract routing shifts to OG.com

The core operational change is straightforward: Robinhood plans to route retail event contracts through OG.com’s CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange and clearinghouse. In the PR Newswire announcement, Robinhood described OG.com as its infrastructure partner for prediction market event contracts, with the initial rollout beginning Tuesday for eligible customers in the US.

This matters for participants because event-contract trading depends not only on market access and product availability, but also on the plumbing—exchange execution, clearing, and regulatory oversight. By centering that plumbing on OG.com’s CFTC-regulated setup, Robinhood is effectively tightening the link between its prediction-market offering and a regulated derivatives framework.

Equity stakes accompany the infrastructure deal

In addition to becoming a customer of OG.com’s infrastructure, Robinhood will receive initial equity stakes in both Crypto.com and OG.com under the multi-year agreement. The announcement states that the stakes are priced at the valuations set by an earlier investment from Citadel Securities. However, neither Robinhood nor the counterparties disclosed how much Robinhood will receive or the dollar value of the holdings.

The equity component is a notable feature of the arrangement. Many infrastructure partnerships are structured around service fees rather than ownership participation. Here, ownership ties can align long-term incentives for both product expansion and operational reliability—especially for a business area where regulatory permissions and market structure are central to scalability.

OG.com independence—and a broader push into derivatives

OG.com recently spun off from Crypto.com at a $5 billion valuation, and Robinhood’s agreement arrives less than two months after reports that Robinhood had been in talks with Crypto.com to expand its prediction markets offering.

OG.com will operate independently from the crypto exchange. CEO Kris Marszalek said the company plans to expand beyond prediction markets into futures and perpetual contracts. That direction is consistent with the idea that regulated event-contract infrastructure can serve as a stepping stone toward more generalized derivatives products, though the specific pace and regulatory pathway for futures and perps would still depend on applicable jurisdictional requirements.

Why prediction markets remain a legal flashpoint

Robinhood’s expansion efforts are happening in parallel with a widening legal dispute about how US states should be allowed to regulate event contracts—particularly sports-related ones.

Robinhood launched its prediction markets hub in March 2025 with CFTC-regulated exchange Kalshi, later expanding its prediction market infrastructure. Cointelegraph previously reported on developments in this space, including partnerships and platform expansion plans. The business has also grown quickly: Robinhood said event contracts generated $156 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2026, up more than tenfold from a year earlier. In the same reporting cycle, Robinhood indicated that its equities transaction revenue was $129 million and that crypto contributed $100 million—figures from the company’s investor relations release.

Analyst estimates cited in the original reporting add another layer to the stakes: Bernstein analysts projected in July that Robinhood’s revenue, including prediction markets, could reach $1.7 billion by 2028. At the same time, those projections sit against uncertainty driven by regulatory and court fights.

Several legal challenges have targeted the classification of prediction-market event contracts. In April, a Nevada judge extended a ban preventing Kalshi from offering event contracts in the state without a gaming license, ruling that the products were effectively indistinguishable from traditional betting. The decision rejected Kalshi’s position that the contracts should be treated as swaps governed exclusively by CFTC oversight.

The dispute has escalated further. Last week, New Jersey petitioned the US Supreme Court to consider whether states can regulate sports contracts offered on CFTC-regulated prediction markets. In a post tied to the move, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said companies such as Kalshi argue they can offer legal sports betting nationwide while refusing to comply with state gambling laws, and she urged the Supreme Court to resolve the jurisdictional conflict.

For investors and traders, these cases are more than abstract legal drama. Platform operators often rely on regulators and courts to define the product boundaries—whether a state can apply gambling rules to event contracts even when the market structure is built within CFTC-regulated derivatives frameworks. Any shift in legal interpretation could affect product listings, market access, and compliance costs.

What to watch next as infrastructure and regulation converge

With Robinhood routing retail event contracts through OG.com’s CFTC-regulated exchange and clearinghouse beginning Tuesday, the immediate operational question is how quickly eligible customers can access the expanded flow. Just as important, the next watch item is the broader legal trajectory around state authority over sports-related event contracts—because the infrastructure build-out may face constraints or redesigns depending on how courts ultimately define the regulatory boundaries.