The new favorite of the 18 million South Korean cryptocurrency army! BitMine(BMNR.US), an Ethereum "treasury" worth 3.6 billion dollars, was explosively bought by 260 million retail investors.

BitMine Immersion Technologies Inc. (BMNR.US), a bitcoin mining company listed in the United States, has become the favorite foreign stock among South Korean retail investors. These investors are always eager for high-risk, high-return investment opportunities in the cryptocurrency market. Supported by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, this publicly traded company recently completed a business transformation, shifting from bitcoin mining to operating a digital asset reserve platformits business model mainly involves continuous accumulation and holding of cryptocurrencies through a listed entity. Data from strategicethreserve.xyz shows that the company currently owns Ethereum worth $3.6 billion, making it the largest Ethereum reserve institution in the world. Over the past weekend, Ethereum prices skyrocketed and led to an overall increase in the cryptocurrency market, briefly surpassing the $4,300 mark and hitting a new high since December 2021. According to data from the Korea Securities Depository Agency, South Korean retail investors have accumulated a net purchase of $259 million in BitMine stock since early July, making it the most popular foreign security during the same period. This phenomenon highlights the sustained speculative enthusiasm among South Korean retail investors. Currently, about one-third of the country's population (approximately 18 million people) are engaged in the digital asset market, with various investment targets attracting significant funds, from leveraged cryptocurrency ETFs to newly listed companies like stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL.US). It is understood that BitMine intends to emulate the business model of Michael Saylor's Strategy (MSTR.US), but shifting its strategic focus from bitcoin to Ethereum. This move positions it among rapidly expanding digital asset reserve institutions, which hold a variety of cryptocurrencies from Binance's BNB to Litecoin and more. However, intense fluctuations remain a characteristic of such stocks, and BitMine is no exception. After announcing its Ethereum hoarding plan, its stock price surged over 300% in July, but then plummeted by 62%.