Tom Lee’s BitMine Targeted in Short-Seller Report

Core Viewpoint - A new short-seller report from Kerrisdale Capital criticizes BitMine Immersion Technologies, Inc. (BMNR), suggesting that investors should not pay a premium for indirect crypto investment vehicles like BMNR anymore [1][2] Group 1: BMNR's Business Model and Market Position - Kerrisdale Capital claims that BMNR is following a strategy similar to MicroStrategy (MSTR), which involves issuing new shares at a premium to increase ETH per share and using the capital to buy more Ethereum [3] - The effectiveness of this model is questioned as MSTR's premium has decreased from 2.0x–2.5x to below 1.5x, indicating a loss of investor enthusiasm [4] Group 2: Financial Performance and Share Issuance - BMNR has issued over $10 billion in new shares within three months, but the growth rate of ETH-per-share has significantly slowed, with its mNAV premium dropping from over 2.0x in August to around 1.2x a month later [5] Group 3: Transparency and Regulatory Environment - Kerrisdale accuses BMNR of becoming less transparent in its disclosures, particularly by omitting updated share count and NAV-per-share figures from press releases since late August [6] - The firm predicts that the NAV premium for many Digital Asset Treasury companies, including BMNR, will continue to decline due to easing crypto regulations and easier direct investment options [7] Group 4: Contrasting Perspectives - Despite the bearish outlook from Kerrisdale, notable investors like Peter Thiel and Cathie Wood remain optimistic about BMNR's future, citing its innovative crypto-centric strategy and aggressive ETH accumulation [8]