Tom Lee "Let's increase Bitmain shares to 50 billion shares"…stock surges 14%

Tom Lee, Bitmain chairman, proposed to shareholders to dramatically increase the company's authorized shares from the existing 500 million shares to 50 billion shares. It is a preemptive measure to prevent the stock from becoming excessively expensive in the event of a future surge in the price of Ethereum (ETH), and to manage liquidity through measures such as a stock split.

On the 2nd (local time), according to The Block, Lee said in a recent YouTube video, "We want to increase the currently approved 500 million shares to 50 billion shares." The market took this proposed increase as good news. That day Bitmain's stock surged 14% to close at $30.93.

Lee cited promoting capital market activity, preparing for mergers and acquisitions, and "maintaining an appropriate stock price" as the main reasons for the proposal. He said, "Bitmain's stock price follows the price of Ethereum," and "If the price of Ethereum rises, Bitmain's shares could become so expensive that ordinary investors would find them difficult to access."

He also presented a specific scenario. Lee estimated, "If Ethereum rises to $22,000, Bitmain's stock would be $500; if Ethereum reaches $62,500, the stock would soar to about $1,500." He added, "Not every investor wants stocks priced at $500 or $5,000," and "Most want the stock to remain around $25."

Bitmain is the world's largest Ethereum digital asset treasury (DAT) company, holding about 3.41% of Ethereum's circulating supply. Last week it also purchased an additional 44,463 ETH, bringing total holdings to 4,110,525 ETH. The shareholder vote deadline for this capital increase proposal is the 14th.