PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel invests heavily in BitMine, with Founders Fund holding 9.1% to boost Ethereum treasury strategy.

Founders Fund acquisition of 9.1% stake in BitMine According to the Schedule 13G document submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 16, it shows that Founders Fund, led by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, has acquired approximately 5.094 million shares of BitMine Immersion Technologies through multiple entities, accounting for 9.1% of the total equity. This public statement confirms the investment details announced at the end of June.

This round of financing also includes participation from well-known crypto capitals such as Pantera Capital and Galaxy Digital. At the same time, BitMine announced the appointment of Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee as chairman of the board, further strengthening its strategic layout in the crypto finance sector.

The financing funds will be used to expand Ethereum reserves BitMine is a company focused on cryptocurrency mining and on-chain asset treasury management. According to disclosed information, the company completed a private placement financing of over 55 million shares at a price of $4.50 per share. The funds raised in this round will primarily be used to expand the company's Ethereum reserves.

Since the launch of the Ethereum treasury strategy, BitMine's stock price has fluctuated wildly, with trading prices soaring from $4.26 to $135 at one point. Nevertheless, on Monday, the stock (BMNR) closed at $41.02 after briefly spiking to $59, with a daily increase of less than 1%.

Ethereum Treasury Heat Intensifies Recently, the market's interest in the Ethereum treasury has significantly increased. Previously secondary in corporate asset allocation, Ethereum is now gradually attracting mainstream attention. Earlier in July, SharpLink Gaming announced an acquisition of $225 million worth of Ethereum reserves, becoming another industry leader in the Ethereum on-chain treasury space.

Although Bitcoin remains the preferred choice for corporate asset allocation, Solv Protocol co-founder Ryan Chow stated that the complexity of Ethereum, while posing a barrier to entry, also brings greater potential value. He stated, "Ethereum is the 'digital oil', an essential universal asset in on-chain finance, indispensable in staking, Gas, collateralization, and settlement."

Ethereum vault may become a key driver for institutional adoption Chow pointed out: "Ethereum has great upside potential. It represents participation and asset preservation, and is gradually becoming part of institutional-grade on-chain infrastructure."

He further stated that in the next wave of cryptocurrency adoption, digital assets with use cases will be far more attractive than mere value storage assets. Especially after institutional strategies shift towards real-world assets (RWA), on-chain collateralized lending, and DeFi participation, Ethereum's role will become even more critical.

The Connection Between BitMine, SharpLink, and Ethereum It is worth mentioning that the recently announced Ethereum treasury companies have deep connections with the ecosystem. For example, Joe Lubin, the chairman of the board of SharpLink, is one of the co-founders of Ethereum.

In addition, as early as 2014, the Thiel Foundation provided a grant of $100,000 to Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, allowing him to focus on developing the Ethereum project. This connection also reflects Peter Thiel's long-standing high interest in the Ethereum ecosystem.

Institutional Layout of Ethereum Treasury Trends is Rising With the official entry of Founders Fund under Peter Thiel and projects like BitMine strengthening on-chain treasury management strategies, Ethereum is gradually transforming from a "technology platform" to an "institutional asset." This shift may bring new capital inflows and ecological driving force to ETH in the upcoming bull market cycle.