Ethereum treasury company BitMine has faced some criticism over its $200 million investment in MrBeast’s Beast Industries earlier this week. This comes amid Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya’s revelation of his stake in the company. Meanwhile, the chairman of the ETH treasury company, Tom Lee, has again explained why investing in MrBeast’s company is a good move.
Crypto Commentators Criticize BitMine’s MrBeast Investment
In an X post, crypto commentator Ran Neuner revealed that he had sold all his BMNR shares. This revelation came as he criticized the company’s investment in Beast Industries, stating that he had invested in an ETH treasury company, not “Tom Lee’s venture fund.”
Neuner also remarked that he wants more ETH per share, indicating that BitMine should focus on buying more Ethereum rather than investing in Beast Industries. “I understand influencer marketing better than most, but I can’t be convinced that an ETH treasury company should be making these investments. I’m out,” he added.
CoinGape had reported that Tom Lee’s company invested $200 million in Beast Industries earlier this week. The BitMine chairman explained that this move was a way to create a collaboration between Ethereum, which he claimed is the future of digital finance, and the number one content creator in the world.
Neuner isn’t the only one to have criticized this move by the Ethereum treasury company. The Altcoin Daily also questioned why Tom Lee’s company is buying a stake in MrBeast’s company rather than buying more ETH. ” I like MrBeast… but how does this make sense? Someone please explain this to me,” the crypto commentator added.
The Bull Case For ETH and BMNR Stock
Tom Lee highlighted the bull case for the ETH price and BMNR stock this year. He noted that this could be Ethereum’s year, with the ETH/BTC ratio hitting a new all-time high (ATH) and tokenization and mainstream adoption driving the altcoin’s price higher.
The BitMine chairman also mentioned that Standard Chartered sees 2026 as Ethereum’s year, with a potential rally to $12,000. Lee expects the treasury company will benefit from ETH’s rise, with historical correlation suggesting that a $12,000 Ethereum price could translate into a $500 BMNR share price.
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The year of $ETH Ethereum– prior ATH ETHBTC ratio 2021
– tokenization and mainstream adoption drive higher
– Standard Charter sees 2026 as year of ethereum
– this implies $12,000 $ETH pic.twitter.com/lVL2jLaFJg— Thomas (Tom) Lee (not drummer) FSInsight.com (@fundstrat) January 16, 2026
Tom Lee added that BitMine will also earn substantial income from ETH staking rewards and from $1 billion cash on hand. He estimates that their current Ethereum and cash holdings could generate pretax income of $402 to $33 million. At a $12,000 ETH price target and with the company potentially hold 5% of the altcoin’s supply, this pretax income could rise up to $2.2 billion.
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Bitmine also to earn substantial income from $ETH staking rewards and from $1 billion cash on hand– existing 4.2mm $ETH plus cash
– to generate $402 to $433 million pretax income– at $12,000 ETH and 5% of supply
– this rises to $2.0b to $2.2 billionThis implies BitMine… pic.twitter.com/iVUHwyjEer
— Thomas (Tom) Lee (not drummer) FSInsight.com (@fundstrat) January 16, 2026
Chamath Reveals Stake In Beast Industries
Famous investor and entrepreneur Chamath Palihapitiya revealed that he invested $45 million in a Series A that created Beast Industries by bringing together all of MrBeast’s various business interests under one umbrella. He added that creating this holding company allowed them to streamline their capital allocation and double down on big, long-term opportunities such as financial services, telecoms, and a creator marketplace.
Tom Lee highlighted Chamath’s comments and said he looks forward to many organic collaborations between BitMine and MrBeast. Meanwhile, while giving a recap of the shareholders’ meeting held yesterday, Lee said that the top layer-1 network Ethereum needs to tap into a larger community to drive mainstream adoption.
He further remarked that MrBeast is the iconic content creator of the generation, with each of his videos garnering over 250 million views, surpassing the Super Bowl. As such, he sees a lot of “potential synergy” between the ‘number one’ content creator and largest Ethereum holder in the world, BitMine.