BitMine Immersion Technologies has significantly increased its commitment to Ethereum by staking an additional 82,560 Ether, valued at approximately $259 million. This latest move has amplified the congestion in the network”s validator entry queue, which is seeing heightened institutional interest in yield generation.
Recent data from Arkham indicates that the treasury firm executed multiple substantial deposits into Ethereum”s BatchDeposit contract in the hours leading to this announcement. With this latest stake, BitMine”s overall staked Ether now totals 544,064, translating to around $1.62 billion based on current valuation metrics provided by onchain analyst Lookonchain.
BitMine initially ventured into Ethereum staking on December 26, transferring nearly $219 million worth of ETH to staking-related contracts. Notably, in November, the firm unveiled plans to enhance its staking capabilities further by initiating the Made-in-America Validator Network (MAVAN) in the first quarter of 2026. This initiative includes partnerships with three institutional staking providers for a pilot program aimed at assessing performance, security, and operational efficiency before scaling up its operations.
As a result of BitMine”s aggressive staking strategy, the Ethereum validator entry queue has surged to approximately 977,000 ETH, with new validators facing an estimated wait time of nearly 17 days to activate. In contrast, exit activity appears to be relatively low, with just over 113,000 ETH currently awaiting withdrawal.
Statistics from Ethereum”s network reveal that over 35.5 million ETH, which constitutes about 29% of the total supply, is now staked, with an annualized staking yield hovering around 2.54%. Abdul, head of DeFi at layer 1 blockchain Monad, recently commented that the last instance of the entry and exit queue flipping occurred in June, which preceded a doubling of Ether”s price. He anticipates that “2026 is going to be a movie.”
In a related context, Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine, has called for shareholders to approve a significant increase in the company”s authorized share count to 50 billion. He asserts this measure is crucial to facilitate potential stock splits, particularly if Ether”s valuation escalates. Lee has indicated that BitMine”s share price closely aligns with ETH”s performance and has projected scenarios in which Ether could reach $250,000, should Bitcoin approach $1 million, thereby affecting BitMine”s market position significantly.
With the current trends in Ethereum staking and institutional interest, the landscape for validators and stakeholders is evolving rapidly, indicating a potentially lucrative future for those engaged in the ecosystem.
