Bitmine shares soar as billionaire Thiel reveals 9.1% stake
Bitmine Immersion Technologies shares jumped nearly 15% in early trading on Wednesday after tech billionaire Peter Thiel disclosed a 9.1% stake in the crypto mining and services company.Thiel has publicly praised bitcoin, a currency based on blockchain technology, and his Silicon Valley venture capital firm Founders Fund was among the early investors in the digital currency.The stake, which would make the Palantir co-founder the biggest investor in Bitmine based on the latest data, was revealed in a regulatory filing after markets closed on Tuesday. Bitmine shares were trading at $46.07, also boosted by bitcoin hovering near record highs and ether hitting a five-and-a-half month high. The stock has gained more than five-fold so far this year through last close, compared with the nearly 27% gain in bitcoin.The company held about 154 bitcoins as of June 6 and 163,142 ether as ofJuly 14 on its balance sheet, collectively worth about $535.5 million at current prices.In June, Bitmine announced a $250 million private placement to start an ethereum treasury strategy and said Fundstrat Global Advisors head of research, Thomas Lee, would serve on its board.The $2 billion market value firm engages in proprietary bitcoin mining and provides hosting services for third-party digital asset mining equipment.A few other small-cap companies such as SharpLink , Bit Digital