Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) shares fell more than 15% on Thursday. This selloff extends the stock's year-to-date decline to over 30%.
A sharp downturn in the cryptocurrency market, specifically a significant drop in Ethereum's price, drove the decline. Bitmine’s strategy of maintaining a massive Ethereum treasury has resulted in approximately $7 billion in unrealized losses.
Chairman Tom Lee publicly defended the company’s position despite intensified scrutiny. Lee stated that volatility is an expected feature of the strategy during market downturns. He compared the company's current performance to how index funds behave during broad market declines.