BitMine Plans $300M Preferred Stock Sale at 9.5% to Fund Ether Treasury
Ethereum treasury firm BitMine filed to sell 3 million 9.50% Series A preferred shares, a potential $300 million raise to fund ETH purchases and staking. Sources differ on the size of the company's paper losses and the weekly dividend cost, and the filing states dividends are not backed by a dedicated staking income pool.
Written by CoinArticle’s AI Newsroom · from 2 cited sources. How we work
The Offering
BitMine filed a preliminary prospectus with the SEC on Wednesday for up to 3 million Series A perpetual preferred shares, each with a $100 stated amount and a 9.50% annual cash dividend paid weekly when declared by the board. If fully sold, the offering would raise $300 million, and Moelis & Company and Cantor are joint lead bookrunners. The company has applied to list the shares on the NYSE under the ticker BMNP.
BitMine said proceeds may go to general corporate purposes, including additional ETH and other digital asset purchases, expansion of staking and validator infrastructure, working capital, Ethereum-related strategic investments, and repurchases of its common stock. The breadth of that list means the raise is not limited to a single use.
Dividend Cost and Staking Revenue
Sources agree on the cost of the dividend: at 9.50% on $300 million, the company would owe about $28.5 million a year, or roughly $548,000 a week. CryptoSlate notes that the figure is small relative to BitMine's stated annualized staking revenue, which the company puts in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The filing cited 4.7 million ETH staked through its MAVAN platform as of May 25, with projected annualized staking revenue of about $276 million.
The two reports cite different holdings figures. Decrypt reports 5,416,901 ETH, about 4.48% of Ethereum's supply, following a 26,497 ETH purchase. CryptoSlate describes holdings of more than 5.3 million tokens, around 4.5% of circulating supply. The difference likely reflects timing of disclosures, and neither source sets out a reconciliation.
Paper Losses and Market Pressure
CryptoSlate reports that BitMine's unrealized losses on ETH have exceeded $8 billion because the asset trades well below the company's average purchase price. Decrypt does not cite a loss figure. The $8 billion number comes from CryptoSlate's reporting and has not been independently verified in the sources provided.
The raise comes as Strategy's preferred product, STRC, remains under pressure, according to Tiger Research senior analyst Ryan Yoon. Strategy also sold about $2.5 million of Bitcoin to help fund dividends on its own preferred stock, per Decrypt.
Analyst Views on the Structure
Zeus Research analyst Dominick John told Decrypt that the setup could "reduce cash drag, support dividend sustainability, and help mitigate common share dilution through on-chain yield generation." He named staking and MEV optimization as the revenue sources that could cover the 9.50% dividend. Alchemy Research argued in April that rising ETH prices would strengthen the program, since staking rewards would be worth more in dollar terms.
Yoon was more cautious about the broader bet. He said Lee "heavily trusts ETH" and sees it as his "only viable hedge," adding that Lee could keep buying during a drawdown. Decrypt also disclosed that Lee is one of nine angel investors in Dastan, the parent company of Decrypt.
What the Filing Does Not Guarantee
CryptoSlate points out that BitMine does not pledge a dedicated pool of staking income to the preferred shares. According to the filing, dividends may be funded from available cash, ETH yield activity, and other sources. The structure therefore depends on ETH rewards being converted into dollars at favorable prices and times, a risk Decrypt also highlights. Decrypt said it had reached out to BitMine for comment and would update if the company responded.
CryptoSlate also cites an Everstake study finding that staking made up 60% of disclosed revenue across publicly listed ETH treasury firms in 2025.
Why It Matters
For Traders
BitMine's raise and continued ETH buying could add demand for the token, but the outcome depends on pricing for the preferred shares once they begin trading.
For Investors
The offering shows ETH treasury firms turning staking yield into fixed-income-style financing, a model whose durability will depend on ETH prices and staking revenue.
For Builders
Protocols and dashboards tracking treasury-company staking revenue should note the filing's disclosure that dividends are not backed by a dedicated staking pool.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Read the full disclaimer.
