Bitcoin Surpasses $90,000 Mark Following Fed Liquidity Injections – Ethereum Treasury Company Plans Massive Share Increase

Fed Liquidity Drives Bitcoin Price Higher

The U.S. Federal Reserve has begun the new year with substantial liquidity provision. Through overnight repo operations, the central bank injected $22.8 billion into the financial system, including $19.5 billion in Treasury securities and $3.3 billion in mortgage-backed securities ^[1].

The measure marks the first liquidity injection of the year and follows a particularly active year-end 2025. On December 31, the Fed had already added $74 billion – the largest single repo operation of the past year, which helped support riskier asset classes such as Bitcoin and the broader crypto market ^[1].

Bitcoin Starts Strong Into New Year

Bitcoin responded positively to the increased liquidity and briefly broke through the $90,000 mark, reaching a new yearly high ^[1]. This recovery follows a sharp market downturn at the end of last year, which began after the crash on October 10. Rising liquidity and improved market sentiment drove prices upward ^[1].

Despite increasing global tensions, Bitcoin showed relative stability. Reports of U.S. actions against Venezuela briefly caused unrest and pushed the price down to around $89,000, but recovery was swift. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were indicted in New York for serious crimes ^[1].

Bullish Forecasts for Bitcoin

Analysts are optimistic about further price development. CryptoQuant predicts that Bitcoin could reach $170,000 this year if expectations for looser financial conditions rise and ETF inflows remain stable ^[1]. Although interest rate cuts by the Fed appear unlikely in the short term, the central bank has already begun so-called Reserve Management Purchases (RMP) ^[1].

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of crypto exchange BitMEX, expects these purchases could drive a strong Bitcoin rally ^[1].

BitMine CEO Demands 1,000-Fold Share Increase

Parallel to Bitcoin developments, Tom Lee, chairman of publicly traded Ethereum treasury company BitMine, is causing a stir. He urged shareholders to approve an increase in authorized shares from 50 million to 50 billion – a 1,000-fold increase ^[2].

As justification, Lee cited the potential necessity of future stock splits, as Ethereum's price could drive up the company's valuation. BitMine's stock price correlates closely with the ETH price, and Lee modeled potential future valuations based on the ETH/BTC ratio ^[2].

Extreme Price Forecast for Ethereum

Lee predicts that ETH could reach a price of $250,000 if Bitcoin rises to one million dollars – a scenario that would drive BitMine's stock price to approximately $5,000 per share ^[2]. "Most people prefer stock prices around $25 rather than prices of 500, 1,500, or 5,000 dollars," Lee explained, referring to the psychological phenomenon of "unit bias" ^[2].

At an ETH price of $250,000, BitMine would need to execute a 100:1 stock split, resulting in approximately 43 billion outstanding shares ^[2]. However, Lee clarified that currently 426 million shares are outstanding and the increase to 50 billion merely represents the maximum allowable total number ^[2].

Criticism of Unrealistic Forecasts

Reactions on social media were predominantly negative. Many users argued that such a massive increase in authorized capital would be dilutive. One user called the proposal "suspicious and ridiculous," especially since such approval could still be obtained if the price actually rises ^[2].

The price forecast of $250,000 for ETH is considered extremely unrealistic – the associated market capitalization would equal nearly seven times that of Nvidia ^[2].

BitMine Continues to Expand Treasury

Regardless of criticism, BitMine continues to expand its Ethereum holdings. The company recently purchased an additional 32,938 ETH worth over $102 million. The treasury exceeded the 4 million ETH mark in December, worth over $12 billion ^[2]. BitMine, which transitioned in 2025 from a pure Bitcoin mining company to an ETH treasury strategy, continues to maintain parts of its Bitcoin business and has additionally begun staking to generate further returns ^[2].