BIT Mining reinvents itself after its casino past

BIT Mining is the next company to announce an altcoin treasury, with big promises for $300M injected into SOL. The company raises red flags for its offshore connections and a relatively low BTC treasury. 

BIT Mining, a NYSE-listed company registered in an offshore territory, has promised to be among the first to implement a SOL treasury strategy. The company announced it would raise up to $300M, depending on market conditions, and switch its reserves to SOL. 

Currently, BIT Mining is ranked #102 based on a treasury of just 19 BTC, acquired at a price of $77,526. BIT Mining is the second BTC treasury company to pivot to an altcoin, following Bit Digital’s decision to fully shift to ETH. 

The scale of the SOL treasury is much larger compared to even the combined BTC and altcoin holdings of BIT Mining. The company also reported 1,246 ETH, 7.6M DOGE, 900K USDT, and 1,770 LTC. The assets were acquired during a period of mining activity and are held by BIT Mining Limited, a Cayman Islands holding company. 

BIT Mining intends to convert all holdings to SOL and participate in the Solana ecosystem as a validator and node operator. The SOL treasury will also accrue passive income through staking and rewards. 

BIT Mining reinvents itself after its casino past

BIT Mining recently changed its identity from its former casino business, known as 500.com. The company had subsidiaries in Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Malta, Cyprus, Curacao, the United States, and China.

In November 2024, the company was fined $10M in connection with a failed bribery scheme in Japan, where 500.com attempted to receive a casino license. The fine is owed to the US Department of Justice and partially to the US SEC, and was lowered from $54M due to inability to pay. 

Despite the company’s past, demand for treasury companies gives BIT Mining a chance at pivoting. The company retains its mining operations, data centers, hosting, and hardware, but will expand into Solana’s staking ecosystem.

Treasury announcement revives BIT Mining share price

BIT Mining lost over 98% of its price since the initial listing in 2015. Over the years, the company stock continued to slide, down to a valuation of just $40M. 

The recent SOL treasury announcement brought the price of BIT Mining to the highest level in the past 12 months, above $5.80. BTCM shares expanded by over 90% in the past year on average, but gained a net 137% in the past five days. 

The treasury effect may be short-lived, as the shares quickly slid from their peak of $6.97. BIT Mining is also not clear about its plan to acquire SOL, using the announcement effect to boost its visibility and share price. 

The company announced that SOL acquisitions will depend on access to capital and market conditions, a feat that is difficult even for large-scale BTC treasury companies. 

For now, the leading Solana treasury company is still DeFi Development Corp., still trading near its higher range at $22.86.

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