Tom Lee's Bitmine borrows a page from Saylor's playbook to offer 9.5% yield in preferred stocks

• Bitmine is offering perpetual preferred stocks with a 9.5% annual dividend, aiming to raise up to $300 million, a company filing shows.
• The firm is following the steps of bitcoin-centric peers like Michael Saylor's Strategy to tap new sources for funding digital asset treasuries.
• The preferred shares will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker BMNP.

BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), an Ethereum treasury company led by Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, is borrowing a page from Strategy's financing playbook and launching a $300 million preferred stock offering as crypto treasury firms search for new ways to secure funding.

According to a Wednesday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company is offering 3 million shares of its Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock at a stated value of $100 per share. The securities carry a 9.5% annual dividend rate, with dividends paid weekly in cash if declared by the company's board.

The preferred shares will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker BMNP, subject to approval, BitMine said.

The offering comes as digital asset treasury firms, recently under pressure from the downturn in crypto prices, explore new funding sources. Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, introduced various classes of preferred equities. Bitcoin treasury peer Strive (ASST) also issued dividend-paying preferred stock SATA.

Bitmine is aiming to bring that playbook to its Ethereum treasury strategy, according to the filing.

The firm has been among the most aggressive buyers in the sector, accumulating more than 5.3 million ETH worth roughly $10 billion and controlling about 4.5% of Ethereum's circulating supply over the past year. That ETH bet is currently sitting at an estimated $9 billion unrealized loss as ETH prices fell below $1,800 from around $5,000 in October.

Bitmine's preferred stock can be redeemed by the company at premiums ranging from 10% to 0% depending on when the redemption occurs. Holders will also have repurchase rights if certain fundamental corporate changes occur. The filing did not specify how Bitmine intends to use the proceeds.

The timing is notable given the growing pressure on Strategy's preferred equity funding model. The firm's STRC preferred stock fell 5% below its $100 par value on Wednesday as investors debate whether the company can comfortably maintain its dividend payments while bitcoin prices slide. Strive's SATA also fell below $97, trading 3% below its pat value, underscoring the pressure on the funding model of digital asset treasuries.

• Standard Chartered is set to fully acquire Zodia Custody by the end of August, folding its digital custody operations into the bank and effectively retiring the Zodia Custody brand.
• The deal underscores how major banks are abandoning in-house experiments and instead buying established crypto platforms to gain trusted, institutional-grade technology...

Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. Bullish owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets and CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish equity-based compensation.