Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), the Ether Treasury Strategy Firm led by Fundstrat Thomas Lee, is the latest Red-Hot Crypto Proxy play in town.
The company's shares have more than doubled Thursday, surpassing $140, and are now more than 3,000% gathering within a week of announcing it would raise $250 million by selling shares to win ETH.
At a price of $4.50 per share, the private placement offering, which is scheduled to close today, attracted institutional investors such as Founders Fund, Pantera, Falconx, Kraken, Galaxy Digital and DCG.
At its core, Bitmine positions itself as a public proxy for ether exposure, similar to how Michael Saylor's Strategy (MSTR) has become a leveraged Bitcoin bet. This approach has recently gained traction as investors are looking for new ways to access crypto via public equities.
The company originally focused on crypto mining using immersion cooling and held $16 million in Bitcoin before fundraising.
Sharplink I've seen already
But the rapid rise and fall of similar Cryptocurrency stocks may provide a warning narrative.
The parabolic rise of BMNR reflects the trading behavior of Sharplink Gaming (SBET). This is another public company that was relocated last month as an ETH Treasury company under the leadership of Consensys co-founder Joseph Lubin.
Sharplink has surged 4,000% in days following the announcement of its $450 million funding. Since then, it has plummeted more than 90% from its peak as companies have closed their ETH acquisitions and early private placement investors have sold profits.
Bitmine's valuation is a market capitalization of over $800 million at its current price, and already has earned the price on aggressive assumptions about the company's future ETH profits.
Retail investors chasing momentum should take a cautious step.
Read more: Ethereum Treasury Firm Sharplink Gaming plunges 70%, but there may be a twist
