Ethereum sees growing institutional interest as Bit Digital raises $162.9M to buy more ETH

Bit Digital has announced a $162.9 million raise to purchase ETH for its corporate treasury, adding to Ethereum’s rising demand from institutions.

The announcement was made on July 1, after underwriters in Bit Digital’s recent public offering fully exercised their option to buy an additional 11.25 million shares. In total, the company issued 86.25 million shares, with net proceeds amounting to $162.9 million after deducting fees and estimated offering expenses. Bit Digital confirmed it will use the funds to acquire Ethereum (ETH).

Bit Digital, which trades on Nasdaq under the ticker BTBT, has been building its Ethereum strategy since 2022. The company now runs one of the largest Ethereum staking platforms operated by a public company. Its platform includes validator infrastructure, custody services, and yield tools for ETH staking.

The raise is one of the largest single-purpose ETH capital raises by a public company to date. It demonstrates that companies are starting to view Ethereum as more than just a technology platform and as a balance sheet asset.

Because of its 3–5% annual staking yields, deflationary design, and ability to power decentralized applications, ETH has been gaining widespread appeal. Ethereum gives companies like Bit Digital a way to earn onchain yield while gaining exposure to one of the most widely used assets in crypto.

Other companies have adopted similar strategies. SharpLink, a Nasdaq-listed company backed by ConsenSys and led by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, raised $425 million in May to acquire more than 176,000 ETH.

Reports now show its total ETH holdings have reached over 202,000 ETH after latest purchases. BioNexus Gene Lab also adopted Ethereum as its main treasury asset earlier this year and published a whitepaper outlining the benefits of ETH staking, 

These companies are among a group of about 40 participants listed under the Strategic ETH Reserve, a tracking initiative for corporate and organizational ETH holders. More than 1.2 million ETH, totaling about $3 billion, are now held in company reserves.

The top five participants, Ethereum Foundation, SharpLink, PulseChain Sac, Coinbase, and Golem, hold more than 70% of all known ETH reserves under the SER list.