MrBeast Eyes DeFi as Tom Lee’s Ethereum Treasury BitMine Invests $200 Million

BitMine Immersion Technologies, the Ethereum treasury firm chaired by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, unveiled a $200 million investment on Thursday in Beast Industries, a company founded by YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson, recognized worldwide as MrBeast.

In a press release shared with Decrypt, Lee described Donaldson, whose videos and social media posts generate millions of impressions and views daily, as a generational content creator “with a reach and engagement unmatched with GenZ, Gen Alpha, and Millennials.”

Lee also described Beast Industries as “largest and most innovative creator-based platform in the world,” which also oversees the creations and distribution of MrBeast-linked goods, including various merchandise and Feastables, a snacks and candy brand.

BitMine said the deal, among the most novel a crypto treasury firm has inked since the trend intensified on Wall Street last year, is expected to close within the next week.

In a statement, Jeff Housenbold, CEO of Beast Industries, said the firm would explore ways to “incorporate DeFi into our upcoming financial services platform” moving forward. DeFi, or decentralized finance, entails the creation of blockchain-based financial services, such as trading or lending, that aren’t reliant on traditional financial intermediaries like banks.

BitMine shares changed hands around $31.50 on Thursday, a more than 3% dip on the day, according to Yahoo Finance. Although the company is the largest corporate holder of Ethereum, with a stockpile that’s currently worth $13 billion, the company’s stock has fallen 21% in the past six months amid broader signs of investor fatigue toward crypto-buying firms.

In October, Beast Financial applied for several U.S. trademarks, indicating that the company would provide crypto exchange, payment processing, banking, and insurance services. At the time, not all of the 52 trademarks owned by the company had led to actual products.

Alex Choi, Donaldson’s key thumbnail strategist, warned on X in December that social media posts touting “MrBeast coin” were not legitimate. The crypto industry has a lengthy track record of scams, stemming from celebrity endorsements or social media hacks.

It was unclear how BitMine’s investment would dovetail with its business, which includes the creation of a “Made in America Validator Network.” Validators serve an essential function on Ethereum’s network by validating blocks of transactions, while also earning rewards.

Earlier this month, Rumble, which positions itself as a free-speech alternative to YouTube, integrated a crypto wallet into its platform for payments and tipping. The feature, backed by stablecoin issuer Tether, supports Bitcoin and tokenized gold.

Donaldson has been involved in crypto since at least 2021, purchasing NFTs from the storied CryptoPunks collection during the height of the pandemic-era crypto boom. He also promoted a gaming league in 2023 that generated controversy over its use of digital assets.

In September, BitMine made its first “moonshot” purchase, investing $20 million into Eightco Holdings, a crypto treasury firm amassing Wolrdcoin—the native token of the World Chain network co-founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman.

Months before, the company indicated in a shareholder presentation that it would make “select investments in bold ideas that enhance Ethereum Network Value.”