Mr. Tom Lee, Chairman of Ether Ethereum$3,130.02 Finance company Bitmine Immersion (BMNR) has urged shareholders to approve a board proposal that will significantly increase the number of authorized shares in the company.
In a message earlier this year, Lee said the company's proposal to increase its share count from 500 million to 50 billion shares did not portend a move to “dilute” shareholders.
“(This) doesn't mean we're going to issue 50 billion shares. That's what we want to be the maximum total number of shares,” Lee said.
Lee acknowledged that the increased number of shares will make it easier for the company to raise capital, reminding him that it will allow Bitmine to pursue opportunistic deals and, most importantly, allow it to accommodate future stock splits.
Lee claimed that since Bitmine pivoted to making ETH its primary financial asset last year, the company's stock price has increasingly tracked Ether. If the price of Ethereum rises over the years as he predicts (topping out at $250,000 when Bitcoin hits $1 million), a split would be necessary to keep the stock available to the public.
Lee framed the proposal within a broader theory that Ethereum would play a central role in Wall Street's push toward tokenized financial markets, pointing to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink's public comments on blockchain-based market infrastructure. Separately, Lee said he has been personally accumulating ether, aligning his macro view with Bitmine's financial strategy.
Lee reminded shareholders that BitMine's annual general meeting is scheduled for January 15th in Las Vegas, and that they have until January 14th to vote on the proposal.
