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Bit Digital jumps as it completes transition to ethereum treasury

The company now holds over 100,000 ethereum, worth more than $250 million.

Publicly traded digital asset platform Bit Digital announced it had completed its digital asset treasury transition to ethereum from bitcoin. It now holds 100,603 ethereum (worth over $250 million at current prices) to become “one of the largest corporate treasury companies in the world.”

Shares of Bit Digital have jumped 27% on the news as of 11:00 a.m. ET.

The company, which previously held 24,434 ethereum, used the proceeds of a $172 million raise to acquire more ethereum, and also sold its 280 bitcoin to buy ethereum.

CEO Sam Tabar said in the release:

We believe ethereum has the ability to rewrite the entire financial system. Ethereums programmable nature, growing adoption, and staking yield model represent the future of digital assets. We are starting with exposure to over 100K ETH for now but we intend to aggressively add more so we become the preeminent ETH holding company in the world.

Several companies are emulating Strategy’s digital asset treasury model but opting for ethereum, such as sportsbook marketing firm SharpLink Gaming, whose shares are up over 12% today. 

Another ethereum proponent, BitMine, revealed a $250 million private placement to start an ethereum treasury strategy, saying it expects “to become one of the largest publicly traded ETH holders.” 

Tom Lee, founder of Fundstrat and CIO of Fundstrat Capital, will become chairman of the board of directors. 

BitMine Immersion Technologies, which surged following Lee’s appointment last week, is not seeing the same enthusiasm as its competition and has tumbled 26% today. 

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Trump-connected WLFI token jumps to 3-month high on news of banking application

World Liberty Financial’s token, WLFI, is the top cryptocurrency gainer in the last 24 hours, peaking at a three-month high of 18.5 cents after the Donald Trump-backed crypto firm announced that a proposed entity has applied for a US banking charter. 

According to a press release, World Liberty Trust Company filed a de novo application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a branch of the US Treasury Department tasked with supervising and regulating national banks. 

With a national trust bank charter, World Liberty Trust can issue USD1, the dollar-backed stablecoin rolled out by World Liberty Financial last year. The trust company also plans to offer digital asset custody and stablecoin conversion services. 

Even though World Liberty Financial and World Liberty Trust Company share similar branding and names, the ownership and operating structures are different, a statement provided to CoinDesk explained. President Trump is labeled as World Liberty Financials cofounder emeritus, while his three sons, Eric, Donald Jr., and Barron, are cited as cofounders.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency under the Trump administration has already approved bank charter applications from several firms, including Circle Internet Group, Ripple, and BitGo, which maintains all reserve assets backing USD1. 

With a national trust bank charter, World Liberty Trust can issue USD1, the dollar-backed stablecoin rolled out by World Liberty Financial last year. The trust company also plans to offer digital asset custody and stablecoin conversion services. 

Even though World Liberty Financial and World Liberty Trust Company share similar branding and names, the ownership and operating structures are different, a statement provided to CoinDesk explained. President Trump is labeled as World Liberty Financials cofounder emeritus, while his three sons, Eric, Donald Jr., and Barron, are cited as cofounders.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency under the Trump administration has already approved bank charter applications from several firms, including Circle Internet Group, Ripple, and BitGo, which maintains all reserve assets backing USD1. 

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Zcash drops after the entire team of Electric Coin Company, a core development firm behind the token, leaves

Zcash, the privacy-focused cryptocurrency, has shed roughly $1.2 billion of its market capitalization in the last 24 hours, with the token dropping 15% after the developers of Electric Coin Company left to start a new company, though they remain focused on the same mission. 

Electric Coin Company was formed in 2015 to jumpstart the privacy-focused zcash protocol, but on Wednesday, the entire team left due to a governance conflict with several board members of Bootstrap, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit aimed at governing Electric Coin Company and supporting the blockchain network, according to Josh Swihart, former Electric Coin Company CEO.

Bootstrap board members Zaki Manian, Christina Garman, Alan Fairless, and Michelle Lai “have moved into clear misalignment with the mission of Zcash,” Swihart wrote in a social media post. “In short, the terms of our employment were changed in ways that made it impossible for us to perform our duties effectively and with integrity.” 

Despite the move, Swihart said the protocol is unaffected. The former Electric Coin Company team is now founding a new company to protect their work from “malicious governance actions” and remain committed to “building unstoppable private money.”

Last year, the cryptocurrency’s price saw explosive growth, jumping nearly 780% from under $60 in January to over $510.

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