Despite an 80% drop, BitMine still draws South Korean retail buyers: Report

South Korean retail investors continue to pour money into Ether-focused BitMine Immersion Technologies Inc., even after the U.S.-listed stock has tumbled more than 80% from its July peak, making it one of 2025’s most extreme cases of speculative demand enduring a collapse.

According to Korea Securities Depository data cited by Bloomberg, BitMine is set to finish the year as one of the most popular overseas equities among South Koreans, second only to Alphabet Inc., with $1.4 billion in net purchases despite the steep slide from its July high.

The company’s dramatic rise began after it pivoted from bitcoin mining to building an ether treasury, positioning itself as a publicly listed vehicle dedicated to accumulating ETH. The announcement sparked a rally of over 3,000% into early July, propelling BitMine from obscurity into the top ranks of foreign stocks favored by South Korean retail. Backed by billionaire Peter Thiel and led by crypto bull Tom Lee, the company quickly captured investor attention.

Demand has not been limited to the shares themselves. Retail investors also targeted leveraged exposure via T-Rex’s 2X Long BitMine Daily Target ETF, designed to deliver twice the stock’s daily performance. The ETF has attracted $566 million in inflows, though it is down roughly 86% from its September peak.

BitMine’s appeal lies in its ETH holdings, which total an estimated $12 billion, making it the largest publicly listed ether treasury company, according to strategicethreserve.xyz. Ether itself has fallen about 11% in 2025, after the rally from listed accumulators pushed the token near $5,000 in August.

For South Korean retail, the attraction is convexity rather than stability. Ether treasury stocks like BitMine act as leveraged proxies for ETH, layering equity risk on top of crypto volatility. That structure creates the potential for outsized gains during momentum phases, but equally sharp losses when flows reverse — explaining why BitMine remains a magnet for the high-risk “ant” investor base even after an 80% drop.