Strategy and BitMine stand at the forefront of their respective digital asset treasury games. Yet, while Michael Saylor’s company pioneered the Wall Street playbook of turning Bitcoin (BTC) into balance sheet alchemy, Tom Lee’s bold, explosive promise—billions in trades executed in record time to hoard Ethereum (ETH)—is equally eye-catching.

Strategy relentlessly accumulates Bitcoin through sophisticated financial engineering, while BitMine strides forward with a leaner model and much to prove. Both companies are playing the exact same game but with wildly different playbooks.

Today, we compare Strategy with BitMine Immersion Technologies and dissect the differences between these two crypto treasury titans across Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The New Strategy

Once upon a time, MicroStrategy defined itself as a business intelligence company selling analytics software to corporations and institutions. Today, the reborn “Strategy” is a massive Bitcoin holding vehicle whose valuation has repeatedly surpassed its dot-com bubble-era peaks, with its most sought-after product being financial engineering.

Strategy’s original core methods for financing Bitcoin purchases were at-the-market (ATM) equity sales and convertible notes, but in this bull cycle, Strategy has pivoted to a hybrid of exotic fixed-income and preferred equity issuance.

In 2025, Strategy expanded its product lineup with STRK (convertible preferred stock with an 8% dividend), STRF (senior perpetual fixed-income with a 10% dividend), STRD (junior perpetual fixed-income with an optional 10% dividend), and STRC (variable-rate perpetual preferred stock with an initial 9% dividend).

While the numerous distinctions between these new-era Strategy products are undoubtedly dizzying, we can gloss over the minutiae for this article’s purposes; more importantly, each instrument works in concert to raise capital from investors with varying risk and return appetites.

For example, investors seeking a far-above-market 10% yield with a senior claim just behind convertible noteholders can buy STRF, while those wanting a slightly lower 8% yield with some upside exposure to MSTR stock can opt for STRK.

The markets for these exotic perpetual preferreds are smaller than MSTR stock itself, but Strategy has found success through these channels, raising over $5.5 billion via this suite of products since the start of the year.

Notably, these products appear to have displaced Strategy’s convertible notes, as the firm hasn’t issued any new zero-coupon debt since February 2025. Moreover, the vast majority of capital raised has come from initial offerings of these securities, with only 14% from subsequent at-the-market sales.

In its Q2 earnings call on July 31, Strategy introduced new common stock dilution guidelines, prohibiting ATM sales when MSTR trades below a 2.5x multiple of its Bitcoin holdings unless to service debt interest and fund preferred dividends.

In a market downturn, Strategy may issue new preferreds to repay debt, but if funding avenues truly close, forced MSTR sales would ultimately reduce the amount of Bitcoin represented per share.

BitMine’s Blueprint

Rewind the clock nearly five years from Strategy’s inception, swap Bitcoin for Ethereum, and you get BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR)! The former Bitcoin miner kicked off its crypto buying spree after announcing its Ethereum treasury strategy in late June; at writing, it holds 1.15 million ETH worth $5.2 billion.

Unlike post-2025 Strategy, which now relies on a complex mix of exotic preferreds to raise cash, BitMine remains in its “classic” era, leaning on ATM equity sales and convertible notes as primary funding tools.

Both Strategy and BitMine are public companies that have tied themselves to a single token. The only material difference is that BitMine focuses on a smaller-cap asset and likely has a more pronounced public profile, with its chairman Tom Lee being a familiar face to daytime investor TV audiences.

Thanks to Strategy’s normalization of the crypto treasury firm, BitMine has found wild early success, accumulating more crypto value in its first month of operations than Strategy did in its first six months.

Conclusion

Both Strategy and BitMine stand out as high-beta proxies for their respective cryptocurrencies. Each has made a bold, concentrated bet on a single crypto asset, with Strategy playing the role of the seasoned veteran and BitMine the fast-rising upstart.

Strategy’s long-standing dominance in the crypto treasury space, coupled with its ability to tap diverse funding sources, affords it greater optionality in navigating adverse market conditions. Conversely, BitMine’s smaller size may offer greater investment upside.

Despite their differing designs, Strategy and BitMine will ultimately rise and fall on the strength of their chosen assets.