Bitmine Immersion Technologies generated $45.7 million in Ethereum staking revenue in the quarter ended May 31, accounting for 98% of the company’s total revenue for the period. That compares to just $2 million in total revenue for the same quarter a year ago, when the company’s income came primarily from machine leasing. Bitcoin self-mining contributed $624,000, and consulting services added $168,000.
The transformation traces directly to the March launch of MAVAN, short for Made in America Validator Network, an institutional-grade Ethereum staking platform that Bitmine built following its acquisition of Australian non-custodial validator operator Pier Two Holdings. MAVAN was originally designed to support Bitmine’s own Ethereum treasury but has since expanded to serve institutional investors, custodians and ecosystem partners. Bitmine currently holds 5.77 million ETH and has staked 85% of that, which is approximately 4.9 million Ether. Tom Lee, Bitmine’s chairman, said that at full deployment, annualised staking rewards are projected to reach $284 million.
The Robinhood Chain Factor
Lee also highlighted the launch of Robinhood Chain on July 1, which he described as a significant demand driver for Ethereum. The chain recorded over $1 billion in dollar trading volume in its first days, making it the highest-volume decentralised exchange by that measure. Robinhood Chain uses ETH as its native gas token, meaning transaction fees across the platform are denominated in Ether and settled on the Ethereum network. With Robinhood’s 27 million users now paying crypto fees in ETH, Lee argued that “everyday users are starting to see ETH as money”.
Ethereum Staking Revenue Is Becoming a Serious Business Model
The Bitmine quarterly results arrive at a moment when Ethereum’s price has underperformed, and FG Nexus has been selling down its ETH treasury at a $100 million loss. The contrast between the two companies’ outcomes is instructive. FG Nexus accumulated ETH as a passive treasury asset and is now unwinding that position at a steep discount. Bitmine built operational infrastructure around its ETH holdings and is generating nearly $46 million in quarterly revenue from the same asset.
That distinction matters for how the market should think about corporate Ethereum exposure. Holding ETH and staking ETH are different businesses with different risk profiles and different income characteristics. The companies treating Ethereum as a productive asset — earning yield through validation while retaining upside exposure — are in a structurally stronger position than those holding it purely for price appreciation. Bitmine’s numbers make that case more concretely than any theoretical argument could.
