Ethereum News: BlackRock Launches ETH Funds And BitMine Adds More ETH

Ethereum News: BitMine Nears 5% of Supply, BlackRock Institutional Bet

The Ethereum ecosystem is seeing a wave of institutional momentum this week. Corporate treasury giant BitMine continues stacking coins, pushing its holdings toward 5% of total supply, while deepening its staking operations for passive yield. 

Meanwhile, BlackRock has launched new tokenized funds built on the network, reinforcing Wall Street's growing comfort with onchain finance. Tokenized U.S. Treasuries are also expanding fast, with this chain capturing the largest share of that market. 

At the same time, trading activity on major exchanges is rotating away from Bitcoin toward altcoins. Together, these shifts matter because they signal deepening real-world utility and demand beneath the surface of daily price action.

Ethereum Whale BitMine Nears 5% of Total ETH Supply

BitMine Immersion Technologies has cemented its position as the largest corporate holder of the asset. As of August 2, the company reported holdings of 5.7978 million coins, equal to roughly 4.8% of the total circulating supply of 120.7 million. 

Over the prior week alone, the firm added 10,399 coins, continuing a buying streak that has run uninterrupted since its treasury strategy launched on June 30, 2025.

Combined with cash, marketable securities, and smaller "moonshot" investments, BitMine's total holdings now stand at approximately $11.3 billion. The company also repurchased 4.5 million shares of common stock last week, bringing cumulative buybacks since July to 16.1 million shares under its $4 billion repurchase program. 

Chairman Tom Lee noted that the asset outperformed the Nasdaq 100 by 2,500 basis points in July, the widest gap since July 2025, which he called a sign of strengthening crypto fundamentals.

BitMine Ethereum Treasury at a Glance

• Total ETH Holdings: 5.7978 million ETH

• Share of ETH Supply: 4.8%

• ETH Purchased Last Week: 10,399 ETH

• Total Crypto Assets: $11.3 Billion

• Staked ETH: 4.9172 Million ETH

• Estimated Annual Staking Income: $247 Million

• Share Buyback Since July: 16.1 Million Shares

BitMine Expands Ethereum Staking to Generate Passive Yield

BitMine isn't just accumulating coins; it's putting them to work. According to on-chain monitoring, the firm deposited an additional 150,120 coins (about $280 million) into staking, lifting its total staked position to roughly 5.0673 million, or 87% of its overall holdings. At a current annualized yield of 2.66%, this generates an estimated 134,800 coins per year, worth close to $250 million.

Much of this activity flows through MAVAN, BitMine's own institutional-grade validator network, originally built to support its treasury and now expanding to serve outside institutional partners and custodians.

BitMine also staked an additional 28,800 ETH worth approximately $53.88 million through Coinbase Prime, further strengthening its validator operations. The latest move brings the company closer to its goal of owning 5% of Ethereum's total supply while reinforcing its long-term staking and treasury strategy.

Source: EmberCN X Post

Timeline: BitMine's Ethereum Treasury Growth

• June 30, 2025: BitMine launched ETH Treasury strategy

• July 2026: Company began large-scale share buybacks

• August 2, 2026: Holdings reached 5.7978 million ETH

• August 4, 2026: Added 150,120 ETH to staking; over 87% now staked

BlackRock Deepens Ethereum Bet With New Tokenized Treasury Funds

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager with over $15 trillion in assets under management, has launched two tokenized money market funds on the network. 

The $6.2 billion BlackRock strategy Select Treasury-Based Liquidity Fund (BSTBL) now offers a tokenized share class, with BNY Mellon serving as transfer agent and tokenization provider. A companion vehicle, BRSRV, launched alongside it using Securitize in the same role.

Both funds invest in cash, short-term Treasuries, and Treasury-backed overnight repo, and both are designed to qualify as eligible reserve assets for permitted stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act. 

The move underscores growing confidence from traditional finance's biggest players in blockchain-based infrastructure for regulated financial products.

Source: EthereumInstitutional X Post

Ethereum Dominates $15.2 Billion Tokenized Treasury Market

Real-world asset tokenization continues expanding rapidly. Data from Token Terminal shows the tokenized U.S. Treasury market has reached $15.2 billion in total value, spread across 18 different blockchains. 

This network leads the category with a 43.2% share, followed by BNB Chain at 31.5% and Stellar at 7.5%. Combined, the top two networks account for nearly three-quarters of the entire market.

Tokenized U.S. Treasury Market by Blockchain

• Ethereum: 43.2%

• BNB Chain: 31.5%

• Stellar: 7.5%

• Other 15 Chains: 18.3%

This dominance in institutional-grade tokenized products highlights the network's continued role as the preferred settlement layer for regulated real-world assets.

Source: TokenTerminal X Post

Binance Trading Activity Shifts From Bitcoin to Altcoins

Not all recent trends favor major assets equally. CryptoQuant data shows altcoins now account for more than 60% of trading volume on Binance, while Bitcoin has slipped to just 22% and this network to 18%. 

As recently as May, Bitcoin's share stood closer to 40%. Bitcoin spot trading volume across major exchanges has fallen near levels last seen in the late stages of the 2023 bear market, as prolonged sideways price action pushes some traders toward higher-volatility altcoins in search of sharper rebounds.

Source: CryptoQuant X Post

Ethereum Price Today

On 4 August 2026 at 5:00AM UTC, ETH Price Today is at $1,868.41, up 0.76% over the past 24 hours. Its market capitalization stood at $225.48 billion, while 24-hour trading volume surged 5116% to $8.01 billion, indicating heightened market activity.

Source; CoinMarketCap

Why These Developments Matter for Ethereum Investors?

For investors tracking the network, these threads point in a consistent direction: growing institutional accumulation, expanding staking participation, and rising real-world asset issuance all deepen the network's utility beyond speculation. 

BlackRock's tokenized funds and BitMine's aggressive treasury strategy suggest large, well-capitalized players see long-term value in holding and staking the asset directly. 

At the same time, shifting exchange volumes toward altcoins show short-term trading sentiment can diverge from these longer-term structural trends, a distinction worth watching closely.

Conclusion

BitMine's treasury keeps expanding toward 5% of total supply, now paired with aggressive staking that generates hundreds of millions in projected annual yield. BlackRock's new tokenized funds add further institutional weight, while the network's leadership in the $15.2 billion tokenized Treasury market reinforces its role in real-world finance. Even as trading volume rotates toward altcoins, institutional adoption continues strengthening the network's underlying position.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. Cryptocurrency markets are volatile; always conduct independent research before investing.