BitMine Chair’s ‘Feature, Not a Bug’ Theory Fails to Pull Buyers as BMNR Resumes 30% Fall

Core Viewpoint - BitMine Holdings (BMNR) is facing significant pressure on its stock price due to ongoing selling in crypto-linked equities, with a decline of nearly 25% over five days and more than 33% over one month, currently trading around $22.35 [1] Group 1: Financial Performance - BitMine has reported heavy unrealized losses on its Ethereum treasury, with an investment of approximately $14.95 billion in ETH holdings, which has decreased in market value to around $8.53 billion, resulting in paper losses exceeding $6.4 billion [2] - Ethereum is trading near $2,200, significantly below BitMine's average acquisition cost of roughly $3,800, indicating substantial losses on the company's treasury [3] Group 2: Market Reactions - The large unrealized losses have raised concerns among market observers, who argue that this could limit future upside and pressure shareholder returns, with warnings that accumulated ETH might eventually act as a selling supply [4] - Despite Chairman Tom Lee's defense of the strategy, stating that drawdowns are "a feature, not a bug," and that BitMine is designed to accumulate through downturns, the stock has not attracted sustained buying interest [5] Group 3: Investor Behavior - Market participation data indicates that investors began exiting before the public debate intensified, as shown by the On-Balance Volume (OBV) which tracks cumulative buying and selling pressure [6] - From early December to late January, OBV was forming higher lows, signaling steady accumulation, but it broke below its rising trend line between January 28 and 29, suggesting that retail and short-term traders started distributing shares [7] - Following the weakening of OBV, institutional-style capital also began to exit, indicating a broader trend of retail buyers leaving the market [9]