BitMine Immersion Technologies Emerges as a Favorite Among South Korean Investors
BitMine Immersion Technologies has officially closed 2025 as one of the most popular overseas stocks for South Korean retail investors, ranking second only to Alphabet Inc. in terms of net purchase volume. According to year-end data from the Korea Securities Depository, the domestic “army of ants”—as South Korean retail traders are known locally—poured a net $1.4 billion into the US-listed firm throughout the year. This obsession began with BitMine’s strategic pivot from traditional BTC mining to a massive accumulation of Ether, which now totals approximately $12 billion. This shift transformed the company into a “digital asset treasury” (DAT), a listed vehicle whose primary value proposition is the hoarding of cryptocurrency, allowing investors to gain leveraged exposure to Ether through a regulated equity instrument.
Volatility Resilience and the Popularity of Leveraged Mining Proxies
The commitment of South Korean investors to BitMine has remained remarkably steadquick, even as the company’s share price experienced a dramatic 82% decline from its July 2025 peak. Market analysts highlight that the South Korean investment culture is uniquely characterized by a high tolerance for risk and a strong preference for altcoin-linked volatility. Beyond direct shares, retail traders also funneled over $566 million into the T-Rex 2X Long BitMine Daily Target ETF, a specialized fund designed to deliver double the daily performance of the underlying stock. This appetite for amplified returns underscores a broader trend where international stocks, particularly those in the crypto-infrastructure sector, have outperformed domestic Korean equities for a significant portion of the year, driving a tripling of net overseas stock purchases to a record $7.1 billion.
Strategic Implications of the ETH Reserve Model for 2026
As BitMine enters 2026 as the world’s largest listed entity dedicated to accumulating Ether, its performance is increasingly viewed as a barometer for institutional interest in the “digital oil” narrative. The company’s success in attracting $1.4 billion in net purchases from a single international market highlights the global demand for regulated avenues into the ETH ecosystem. While Ether itself has underperformed BTC in 2025, the presence of major DATs like BitMine has provided a necessary liquidity floor for the token, assisting it maintain a foothold near the $3,000 level during year-end volatility. For 2026, the primary question for South Korean investors will be whether BitMine’s massive crypto stockpile can eventually drive a valuation recovery, or if the “NAV premium” associated with listed treasury firms will continue to contract as more spot ETH ETFs become available on the global market.
