Bitmine’s newly issued preferred shares, trading under the ticker BMNP, suffered a disappointing first day on the New York Stock Exchange on June 16. The stock opened at $91.49, an 8.5% discount to its $100 par value, and continued to slide, closing at $88.10 — roughly 12% below par. As of the latest session, BMNP hovered around $89.75, still more than 10% under its issuance price, signaling cautious investor appetite for the crypto-focused preferred equity.
The lackluster debut stands in contrast to the optimism voiced by Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee, who highlighted the company’s potential inclusion in the Russell 1000 index. With the reconstitution update scheduled for June 18, Lee argued that entry into the benchmark could unlock fresh institutional demand, as many funds are mandated to allocate only to index constituents. Bitmine, through its parent BMNR, has positioned itself as the largest corporate Ethereum holder globally, amassing 4,718,677 ETH valued at approximately $8.1 billion.
The preferred stock is directly tied to the company’s Ethereum treasury strategy. BMNP carries a 9.50% annual dividend paid weekly, modeled after Strategy’s (MSTR) STRC security. Bitmine raised about $273.8 million by selling 3.5 million shares at $80 each on June 10, with proceeds earmarked for additional ETH purchases. Lee projects roughly $219 million in yearly staking rewards will support the dividend cash flow, though the initial trading discount suggests the market is pricing in the volatility risk of Ethereum’s underlying price.
While BMNP stumbled, the common stock BMNR showed modest resilience, rising 2% on June 17 to around $16.54. Investors now watch the Russell 1000 update as a potential catalyst. A successful inclusion could validate Bitmine’s hybrid equity-crypto model, but the persistent discount on BMNP underscores lingering skepticism around digital-asset-backed corporate treasuries.
