BitMine Immersion Technologies, the largest Ethereum treasury company, announced it will become the first large-cap crypto firm to declare an annual dividend. The announcement was made as part of its first earnings release since the significant digital asset pullback in the latter half of the year, which has strained the balance sheets of crypto treasury firms. BitMine will issue a dividend of $0.01 per BMNR share, payable on December 29. The stock is currently trading around $26.49, slightly higher on the day but considerably below its yearly peak of $135 reached in early July, shortly after the firm revealed its ETH accumulation strategy.
The dividend represents BitMine’s latest initiative to employ traditional corporate finance tools to return value to shareholders. Earlier this year, it became one of the first digital asset treasuries (DATs) to approve a share buyback program, complementing its ongoing Ethereum purchases.
Investor Takeaway
BitMine is relying on traditional capital-return tools as crypto-treasury stocks lose their premium to Net Asset Value (NAV). For shareholders, dividends might offer some mitigation against volatility but cannot fully offset NAV compression if Ethereum prices remain weak.
Financial Results Show Profitability but Heavy Unrealized Losses
Supported by prominent investors such as ARK's Cathie Wood, DCG, Founders Fund, Galaxy Digital, Pantera, and notable individuals including Bill Miller III and Tom Lee, BitMine stands as the world's second-largest crypto treasury firm after Strategy. It is also the largest public ETH-focused DAT by a significant margin. For the fiscal year ending August 31, BitMine reported a net income of $328 million, equivalent to fully diluted earnings of $13.39 per share. The company holds approximately $10 billion worth of Ethereum, comprising 3.55 million tokens acquired at an average price of about $3,120. However, with ETH trading around $2,730, BitMine's multiple to Net Asset Value (mNAV) has fallen below 1.0x. This indicates that the company's market capitalization is now less than the value of the Ethereum held on its balance sheet, after accounting for liabilities. The firm currently holds an unrealized loss of approximately $4.52 billion as Ethereum trades near its multi-month lows. BitMine is not an isolated case; the combined market capitalization of crypto treasury companies has plummeted from $176 billion in July to roughly $99 billion currently, reflecting a widespread repricing across the sector.
Critics Warn DAT Capital Structures Are Strained
A representative from Ether Machine, a competing ETH treasury company, informed The Block that the outlook for DATs utilizing at-the-money equity issuance for crypto acquisitions is rapidly deteriorating. Ether Machine contended that the financing methods employed by BitMine (BMNR) and Sharplink (SBET) have amplified losses for retail shareholders. According to the firm's analysis, an investor who purchased BMNR shares in August has experienced a decline of about 73 percent, whereas an investor who bought ETH directly during the same period has seen a loss of roughly 30 percent. The representative stated that the capital structures used to raise over $10 billion for ETH purchases in recent months are "breaking under the market conditions we find ourselves in now," leaving equity holders significantly exposed. BitMine shares have declined by nearly 50 percent over the past 30 days, though they remain up approximately 258 percent year-to-date, illustrating both the volatility and the speculative interest surrounding digital asset treasury vehicles throughout 2025.
BitMine Looks Ahead to 2026 With Staking Launch
Despite the substantial drawdowns, Chairman Tom Lee expressed that BitMine is "well positioned in 2026." The company intends to launch its Made in America Validator Network (MAVAN) in the first quarter, introducing a staking component to its operations that could generate yield on its substantial ETH treasury. In addition to its primary focus on Ethereum, BitMine also operates Bitcoin mining facilities in Trinidad and Texas, providing the firm with multiple revenue streams beyond direct ETH accumulation. Whether these initiatives contribute to stabilizing earnings in 2026 will likely depend on the pace of Ethereum price recovery and the restoration of investor confidence in the DAT model. For the present, BitMine's declaration of a dividend highlights a growing trend among crypto treasury firms: the increasing importance of traditional financial tools as valuation premiums contract and digital asset prices remain under pressure.