Tom Lee urges BitMine shareholders to approve share increase ahead of January 14 vote

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Tom Lee urges BitMine shareholders to approve share increase ahead of January 14 vote

The chairman of the former bitcoin miner-turned-ether treasury firm reiterated his view that Ethereum is the future of finance.

By Olivier Acuna|Edited by Stephen Alpher

Jan 2, 2026, 5:12 p.m.

Tom Lee, chairman of ETH treasury firm Bitmine, urged shareholders to approve a board proposal for a sharp increase in the company's authorized share count.

What to know:

• Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), urged shareholders to approve an increase in the company's authorized share count from 500 million to 50 billion.
• Lee assured shareholders that the increase is not intended to dilute shares, but instead to enable capital raising, dealmaking, and future share splits.
• Shareholders have until January 14 to vote on the proposal, with the annual meeting scheduled for January 15 in Las Vegas.

Tom Lee, chairman of ether ETH$3,125.59 treasury firm BitMine Immersion (BMNR), urged shareholders to approve a board proposal for a sharp increase in the company's authorized share count.

In a start-of-the-year message, Lee said the proposal to boost the company's number of shares to 50 billion from 500 million is not a precursor to a move to "dilute" shareholders.

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“[This]t doesn’t mean we’re issuing 50 billion shares. That’s what we want the total max shares to be,” Lee said.

Acknowledging that a higher share count does make it easier to enable the company to raise capital, Lee reminded that it also allows BitMine to pursue opportunistic dealmaking and — most importantly, according to Lee — accommodate future share splits.

Lee argued that BitMine’s share price has increasingly tracked ether since the company pivoted last year to make ETH its primary treasury asset. If ether's price rises over the years as he expects — as high as $250,000 if bitcoin reaches $1 million — splits will be necessary to keep shares "accessible" to the public.

Lee framed the proposal within a broader thesis that Ethereum will play a central role in Wall Street’s push toward tokenized financial markets, pointing to public comments by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink about blockchain-based market infrastructure. Lee has separately said he has been accumulating ether personally, aligning his macro view with BitMine’s treasury strategy.

Lee reminded shareholders that they have until Jan. 14 to vote on the proposal, with BitMine’s annual shareholder meeting scheduled for Jan. 15 in Las Vegas.

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