ETH/USD: Ether Prices Soar Above $3,400 as Peter Thiel Builds Stake in ETH-Holding Firm

Tech titan revealed a 9.1% stake in crypto miner BitMine, which now holds more than $500 million worth of Ether.

🤝 Peter Thiel Ether Thiel

• Ethereum ETHUSD ripped higher by 15% in about three days, after one legendary tech investor disclosed a hefty stake in a crypto miner that holds about 164,000 Ether worth $500 million. It’s Peter Thiel (or Ether Thiel now?) — the VC pioneer who helped found PayPal and Palantir.
• His new gig? A 9.1% stake (5.1 million shares) in BitMine BBMNR, which whipped up its Ethereum treasury on June 30 with a $250 million private placement. Since then, the shares have soared more than 400%. Yesterday alone, when the Thiel news broke, the stock added 12%.
• “We are pleased that we added significantly to our ETH treasury just 3 days after closing our private placement,” CEO Jonathan Bates said in the press release. “Clearly, Wall Street is getting ‘ETH-pilled.’”

💫 Ether vs Bitcoin

• It’s all good news for Ethereum, the second-largest token, which has recently been outshining its bigger bro Bitcoin BTCUSD. Prices of Ether Thursday morning were floating at a six-month high of $3,430 per token, looking to close out the fourth straight week of gains.
• Bitcoin, on the other hand, is set to snap its three-week bull run after its record high of $122,000 hit Monday couldn’t sustain the momentum. Prices are lower by about 6% to $118,000.
• Side by side, Ether’s four-week rally has added a whopping 56% to its valuation, which now floats around $420 billion. Bitcoin’s four-week showing points to an 18% gain with a market value of $2.35 trillion.

👀 Ethereum, the Diversifier?

• Why is Thiel’s move propelling Ether prices? The coin has largely been on the fringes of the investment world, compared to Bitcoin, which has been pulled into corporate treasuries, investment funds, and ETFs.
• In this light, BitMine’s decision to diversify into Ether is a clear step into expanding the crypto selection when it comes to treasuries getting stuffed with alternative assets.
• Still, Ether is not even close to its all-time high of nearly $4,900 hit on November 8, 2021. Other tokens also powered higher alongside Ether’s sprint yesterday. Solana topped $175 and XRP crossed $3.20.