Bit Digital Pivot to Ethereum from Bitcoin
Shares in Bit Digital fell by nearly 4% on Wednesday after the crypto mining firm announced it would wind down or sell its Bitcoin mining infrastructure and use the proceeds to buy more Ether.
In a statement, the company said it would gradually convert its entire Bitcoin (BTC) stack to Ether (ETH), but it did not specify a deadline for completing the move.
Cointelegraph reached out to Bit Digital, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Bit Digital said it aims to become a “pure play Ethereum staking and treasury company.” The firm started buying ETH for its treasury reserve and began its staking services infrastructure in 2022.
As of the quarter ended March 31, the firm held 24,434.2 ETH and 417.6 BTC in its reserves.
If the firm converted all of its Bitcoin holdings into ETH today, Bit Digital’s ETH reserve would increase by more than 18,000 ETH to over 42,000 ETH.
Meanwhile, Bit Digital also announced that it will be selling its own stock, with the net proceeds being used to buy more Ether.
Stock price dips on Ether move
Investors soured on Bit Digital’s pivot away from Bitcoin, causing Bit Digital’s stock (BTBT) to decrease by 3.69% to $2.35 on Wednesday’s trading session.
The stock further fell 3.83% after the close of trading, ending the after-hours trading session at $2.26, according to Google Finance.
The stock is down nearly 25% year-to-date and is down by 39% from its Jan. 6 peak of $3.88.
Related: Bitcoin mining firm Bit Digital reports revenues up nearly 40%
For the March quarter, the company reported its net revenue declined by 18% year-on-year, while its net profit margin fell drastically, by 240%.
In April, the firm acquired an industrial building in Madison, North Carolina, for $53 million to bolster its artificial intelligence and high-performance computing offerings.
More firms are making moves toward ETH
Some publicly traded firms have increased their ETH exposure in recent weeks.
Sport betting firm SharpLink Gaming bought $463 million worth of ETH on June 13, making it the largest publicly traded company in the world to hold ETH. On Tuesday, SharpLink bought an additional $30 million in Ether.
According to Strategic ETH Reserve, a data tracker that tracks institutions holding more than 100 ETH, Bit Digital is the third largest publicly traded company to hold ETH in its reserve, with SharpLink taking the top spot and exchange Coinbase ranking second.
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