BitMine Expands Ethereum Staking Amid Rising Institutional Demand

According to Cointelegraph, BitMine Immersion Technologies has significantly increased its Ethereum staking activities by adding 82,560 Ether, valued at approximately $259 million, to the network's staking system. This move has intensified congestion in the validator entry queue as institutional interest in yield continues to grow. Data from Arkham indicates that BitMine made several large deposits to Ethereum's BatchDeposit contract recently. With this new addition, BitMine's total staked Ether has reached 544,064, valued at around $1.62 billion, as per onchain analyst Lookonchain. BitMine began its Ethereum staking journey on December 26, initially transferring nearly $219 million worth of Ether to staking-related contracts on the Ethereum network. In November, the company announced plans to start staking Ether in the first quarter of 2026 through its internal infrastructure, the Made-in-America Validator Network (MAVAN). BitMine selected three institutional staking providers for an initial pilot to assess performance, security, and operational reliability before expanding the program. The aggressive staking strategy by BitMine has contributed to Ethereum's validator entry queue nearing 977,000 Ether, with an estimated wait time of about 17 days for new validators to become active, according to the Ethereum Validator Queue. In contrast, exit activity remains relatively low, with just over 113,000 Ether waiting to withdraw. Network data reveals that more than 35.5 million Ether, or roughly 29% of the total supply, is currently staked, with an annualized staking yield of approximately 2.54%. Abdul, head of DeFi at layer 1 blockchain Monad, noted in a recent X post that the last time the entry and exit queue flipped in June, Ether's price doubled shortly after. He predicted that "2026 going to be a movie." Meanwhile, Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine, is advocating for a significant increase in the company's authorized share count to 50 billion. He argues that this move is necessary to accommodate future stock splits if Ether's price drives BitMine's valuation higher. Lee suggested that if Bitcoin reaches $1 million, Ether could hit $250,000, potentially pushing BitMine shares to levels that might exclude most retail investors.