Bit Digital exits Bitcoin mining and swaps BTC for Ethereum reserve
The American crypto player Bit Digital is making a notable strategy shift: the company is stopping Bitcoin mining and aims to focus entirely on Ethereum staking and an ETH-driven treasury.
The American crypto player Bit Digital is making a notable strategy shift: the company is stopping Bitcoin mining and aims to focus entirely on Ethereum staking and an ETH-driven treasury. The proceeds from winding down or selling its Bitcoin operations will largely be converted into Ethereum.
In a time when companies like MicroStrategy and Metaplanet are leaning into Bitcoin as cash reserves, Bit Digital is intentionally taking the opposite route. Ethereum remains for many publicly traded companies an underutilized domain, with only a handful of players such as ConsenSys founder Joe Lubin and recently SharpLink Gaming, which has aggressively expanded its ETH position.
According to figures from Strategic ETH Reserve, Bit Digital held 24,434.2 ETH at the end of March, worth about $60 million, alongside a relatively modest 417.6 BTC (about $45 million). That puts Bit Digital in third place among the largest publicly traded companies with an Ethereum reserve, behind SharpLink and the crypto exchange Coinbase.
If the company were to convert all its Bitcoin into ETH today, the total Ethereum reserve would grow by more than 18,000 ETH to over 42,000 ETH. In practice, this conversion will occur gradually, the company says.
Bit Digital began accumulating and staking ETH in 2022 and now manages, in its own words, “one of the largest institutional staking infrastructures in the world.” It provides services in validator hosting, institutional custody, yield solutions, and governance advisory within the Ethereum ecosystem.
To finance the transition, the company has announced a new equity offering to fund additional ETH purchases. At the same time, Bit Digital is working on spinning off its wholly owned subsidiary WhiteFiber Inc.
The market reaction was cool: Bit Digital's stock fell more than 3%. Investors may be waiting for proof that the move to ETH will also translate into returns.
