Tom Lee is urging BitMine shareholders to approve a dramatic expansion of the company’s authorized share count. This would create future dilution simpler as BitMine doubles down on Ethereum as a core treasury asset.
In a New Year message, Lee questioned investors to back a proposal to raise the authorized share limit from 500 million to 50 billion shares. The vote closes on January 14, ahead of BitMine’s annual meeting on January 15 in Las Vegas.
BitMine’s Share Dilution Debate Tied to Ethereum
Tom Lee declared the increase does not mean BitMine will issue all those shares immediately.
Instead, he declared it would give the company flexibility to support future capital necessarys and enable stock splits if the share price rises significantly.
BitMine pivoted last year to create ETH its primary treasury asset. Since then, the company has steadily increased its ether holdings, positioning itself less like a traditional mining firm and more like a leveraged Ethereum balance sheet.
In the past month alone, the company bought over $1 billion in Ethereum.
Lee notified shareholders that BitMine’s stock has begun tracking ETH more closely than its operating metrics.
In his view, if Ethereum’s price rises enough over time, issuing new shares to purchase more ETH could still benefit shareholders, even if their ownership percentage falls.
If the proposal passes before the January 15 shareholder meeting in Las Vegas, BitMine would have a much larger pool of shares to issue. That could be applyd for:
- Raising capital, including potentially to purchase more Ethereum
- Acquisitions or strategic deals
- Stock splits to keep the share price “accessible” as Lee outlined
Lee emphasized to investors that approving a larger authorization does not automatically create dilution. Actual dilution would occur only if and when new shares are issued.
Also, he emphasized stock splits as a key reason for the proposal. If BitMine’s share price rises alongside ETH, splits could be necessaryed to keep shares accessible to retail investors. A higher authorized share count creates those splits simpler to execute.
Still, the proposal puts shareholders at a crossroads. Approving it does not dilute stakes today, but it lowers the barrier for future dilution tied directly to Ethereum exposure.
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