Ethereum financial giant Bitmine Immersion Technologies, which owns $11 billion worth of cryptocurrencies, announced on Friday that it has appointed Qi Tsang as CEO and director.
Mr. Tsang, who succeeds former CEO Jonathan Bates, most recently served as founder and managing partner of venture fund m1720, and previously spent 10 years at HSBC, where he was head of Asia and TMT Global Banking in 2022.
“The transformation and innovation Wall Street is currently facing through blockchain and Ethereum mirrors the explosion of opportunities that mobile phones and the Internet brought to communications and technology in the 1990s,” Tsang said in a statement. “Bitmine is positioned to become a major financial institution due to its large Ethereum holdings and trust from both Wall Street and the Ethereum ecosystem.”
The company also appointed three new directors: Robert Sechan, Olivia Howe and Jason Edgeworth.
Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee, who has been the face of Bitmine since pivoting to Ethereum earlier this year, said in a statement that the new appointments “bring a unique blend of experience, insight, and leadership across technology, DeFi, and financial services that will further position Bitmine as a bridge between traditional capital markets and the supercycle Ethereum ecosystem.”
BMNR stock is down about 4% on the day and recently traded at just over $35. The company’s stock price has fallen by nearly 34% in the last month due to falling crypto prices, reducing the value of the company’s ETH stash.
As of Monday, the company held more than 3.5 million ETH (currently worth about $11.2 billion), making it the largest corporate holder of Ethereum to date, well ahead of runner-up SharpLink Gaming, worth about $2.75 billion.
Ethereum has fallen 5.5% from the previous day to a recent price of $3,200, pushing its 30-day selloff to more than 20%. The price of ETH has fallen 35% since the asset peaked at just under $5,000 in August.
Myriad users – prediction market platform operated by decryption’s parent company Dastan remains moderately optimistic about Ethereum’s next move, saying it is nearly 53% more likely that ETH will rise to $4,000 next than fall to $2,500.
Earlier this week, Myriad users predicted a 77% chance of a rise to $4,000.
