Bitmine on Preliminary Russell 3000 List; Lee Eyes Russell 1000

FTSE Russell included Bitmine Immersion Technologies on a preliminary Russell 3000 list published Friday. Chairman Tom Lee wrote on X that Bitmine’s market capitalization at Friday’s close, $10.15 billion, exceeds the Russell 1000 minimum threshold of about $5.7 billion.

FTSE Russell will publish further list updates on June 5, June 12 and June 18. The reconstituted indexes take effect after the U.S. market close on June 26. Final inclusion in the Russell 1000 would be determined at reconstitution.

Lee wrote that many active managers restrict purchases to Russell 1000 names and cited an estimate that passive index funds and ETFs can hold up to 25% of a stock’s market capitalization after index inclusion. “many active managers only buy equities on the Russell 1000,” he wrote.

Bitmine shares are down more than 30% year to date, closing last Friday at $18.88. Earlier this year the stock briefly traded above $135. The company disclosed a mid-July holding of 163,142 Ether valued at about $500 million at the time of that filing.

As of last week Bitmine reported holdings of 5.28 million Ether, roughly 4.37% of Ethereum’s circulating supply of about 120.7 million tokens. The company’s stated target is to hold 5% of the circulating supply, which would require about 756,538 additional Ether to exceed 6 million tokens. Bitmine has also announced plans to build an Ether treasury in July 2025.

Ether has declined more than 57% from its all-time high of $4,946, producing unrealized losses for holders. Bitmine is estimated to have about $7.3 billion in unrealized losses tied to its Ether exposure. Lee wrote that the price pullback presents a buying opportunity and added that the firm has staked most of its Ether holdings, generating annualized staking revenues of about $289 million.

FTSE Russell’s upcoming updates and the June 26 reconstitution will determine whether Bitmine advances from preliminary consideration to formal inclusion.