Publicly traded company BTCS announced a $57.8 million financing agreement led by investment firm ATW Partners to purchase Ether as it expands its blockchain infrastructure strategy. 

The Rockville, Maryland-based company announced the deal on May 14, saying that the move will allow it to expand validator node operations and build recurring revenue from Ether (ETH) staking.

BTCS CEO Charles Allen said the move follows Strategy’s (formerly MicroStrategy) high-profile Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation blueprint and will leverage Ethereum for long-term growth. 

“We are executing a disciplined strategy to increase our Ethereum exposure and drive recurring revenue through staking and our block building operations,” Allen said.

Source: BTCS

BTCS issues initial $7.8 million convertible notes

As part of the agreement, BTCS issued an initial $7.8 million tranche in convertible notes, with the option to draw an additional $50 million in funding subject to mutual agreement.

The notes are convertible to BTCS common stock at a fixed price of $5.85 per share, almost 200% more than the company’s $1.99 stock price on May 13. 

The notes carry a two-year maturity and a 6% annual interest rate. This means that BTCS has two years to repay the loan if it’s not converted into stock, and that while the notes are active, the company will pay 6% in interest yearly. 

In simple terms, investors are betting that BTCS stock will rise. In exchange, the company gains access to capital for scaling its Ethereum operations.

Investors also received an option to buy 1.9 million shares at $2.75 each for the next five years. This is much higher than the current stock price but lower than the conversion rate stated in the agreement. 

The financing agreement follows the company’s recent use of the lending protocol Aave to borrow funds to acquire ETH. However, the company did not disclose in the announcement how much ETH it had acquired through the protocol.

Related: Ethereum Foundation unveils security initiative to supplant legacy systems

BTCS doubles down on Ether as asset gains 42% 

BTCS’s announcement to purchase ETH came after the crypto asset made massive gains following the Pectra upgrade. On May 12, Ether’s market cap surged by 42%, surpassing the stock valuations of Coca-Cola and Alibaba. The surge in value placed Ether as the 39th-largest asset by market cap. 

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