The world's first! A listed company issues Ethereum dividends: shareholders receive ETH directly! How does the company leverage ETH to achieve "money making money"?

In August 2025, the integration of TradFi and the encryption world reached another milestone. BTCS Inc., a blockchain infrastructure company listed on Nasdaq (ticker: BTCS), officially announced that it will distribute Ethereum (ETH) dividends to its shareholders, making it the world's first publicly traded company to pay dividends in ETH. This groundbreaking move not only means that shareholders will have the opportunity to directly acquire the world's second-largest crypto asset but also reveals how emerging "Ethereum treasury companies" represented by BTCS are managing complex on-chain strategies while holding ETH to achieve continuous asset appreciation.

Kill three birds with one stone

The BTCS launched this time is not a simple cash dividend alternative, but a carefully designed dual-incentive plan aimed at rewarding long-term investors and strengthening its shareholder base. Basic Dividend (Bividend): The company will pay a one-time dividend of $0.05 per share to all eligible shareholders. Shareholders can choose to receive this amount in ETH or cash equivalent. Loyalty Payment: On top of this, BTCS also offers an attractive loyalty reward—an additional $0.35 per share. However, this reward can only be received in the form of ETH and comes with specific conditions: during the period from September 26, 2025, to January 26, 2026, shareholders must transfer their BTCS stock to the company's designated transfer agent (Equity Stock Transfer) for bookkeeping custody and must maintain their holdings throughout this period. In total, loyal shareholders can receive up to $0.40 worth of Ether per share.

It is worth noting that this is not BTCS's first attempt at encryption dividends. As early as 2022, the company launched a "Bividend" program paid in Bitcoin. However, this Ethereum dividend program marks a significant upgrade both in scale and in the complex mechanism that combines loyalty rewards, demonstrating the company's deep commitment to the Ethereum ecosystem.

The move by BTCS is backed by a well-thought-out business strategy. The company's CEO, Charles Allen, stated that the aim is to empower long-term shareholders, allowing them to truly take control of their investments.

First of all, the most direct goal is to reward long-term supporters. By establishing loyalty rewards with lock-up conditions, the company can clearly identify and give back to those investors who have confidence in its future development.

Secondly, this is a clever anti-short selling strategy. Once shareholders transfer their stocks into a bookkeeping account, those shares cannot be borrowed for short selling transactions. This move effectively reduces the number of stocks available for circulation and short selling in the market, increasing the operational costs for short sellers, thereby hoping to put pressure on "predatory short sellers" and protect the stock price from market manipulation.

Finally, this move aims to reshape the market's perception of its value. BTCS stated in the announcement that when the board approved the plan, the company's stock price was below its net asset value per share (i.e., the total of the cash and encryption assets the company holds). By distributing Ethereum dividends, the company not only showcased its large ETH reserves (approximately 70,000 ETH valued at over $300 million as of August 2025) to the market but also attempted to boost investor confidence and drive the stock price back towards its true asset value. The market reacted positively to this, with BTCS's stock price rising over 10% at one point after the news was released.

The BTCS Ethereum dividend event is another strong proof of the integration of encryption assets into mainstream finance. It marks a profound shift in the positioning of ETH—from a mere "network fuel" that powers decentralized applications to a core reserve asset and value distribution tool on the balance sheets of publicly listed companies.

Behind this transformation is the increasingly strong fundamentals supporting Ethereum. Recently, Ethereum spot ETFs have recorded a record net inflow of funds, with institutions accelerating their accumulation of ETH. At the same time, its network activities, such as decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume and daily active wallet addresses, are experiencing explosive growth. More importantly, due to a large amount of ETH being staked, held long-term by institutions, or permanently lost, the supply of ETH on exchanges continues to shrink, creating a significant supply contraction.

Under the dual effects of "demand growth" and "supply tightening", the value storage and yield-generating asset attributes of ETH are becoming increasingly prominent, attracting more and more attention from publicly listed companies.

ETH "money makes money"

Holding a large amount of ETH is just the first step. The core competitiveness of companies like BTCS lies in how to make these assets "money generate money". BTCS has built a diversified value-added flywheel that maximizes the returns on its ETH assets through the integration of DeFi and TradFi.

Its main strategies include: Solo Staking: The company leverages its technological advantages to operate Ethereum validator nodes independently. Approximately 38% of its total holdings are used for this purpose, directly earning network security rewards. DeFi Lending and Leverage: BTCS deposits about 55% of its ETH into top DeFi lending protocols like Aave. This not only earns deposit interest but more importantly, they can use it as collateral to borrow stablecoins, which are then used to purchase more ETH, thereby achieving leveraged accumulation while controlling risk. Participation in Liquid Staking Ecosystem: The company also joins liquid staking protocols like Rocket Pool as a professional node operator. This not only earns basic staking rewards but also shares additional protocol fees, further enhancing the return rate (this part accounts for about 6% of its holdings). Maximizing Extractable Value (MEV): Through its core infrastructure "Builder+", BTCS employs complex algorithms to optimize block construction and transaction ordering to capture MEV, generating substantial additional income for the company. Its Q2 2025 financial report shows that the revenue of this business segment has experienced remarkable growth.

BTCS is not an isolated case; it stands at the forefront of a wave of "Ethereum treasury companies." According to statistics, over 70 listed companies or large entities worldwide have adopted ETH as a strategic reserve, with a cumulative holding accounting for more than 3% of the total supply of ETH. These companies are forming an emerging institutional track, each with its own unique approach: BitMine: As the world's largest holder of ETH, supported by capital giants like Peter Thiel and Tom Lee, its goal is to accumulate 5% of the total supply of ETH. The company plans to deeply participate in the Ethereum native protocol in the future through staking and other methods. Sharp Link Gaming: This original online gaming company has adopted ETH as its primary reserve asset and has nearly 100% of its holdings staked through professional service providers like Figment, steadily generating returns. Bit Digital: Fully transformed from a Bitcoin mining enterprise, it clearly positions itself as a "public platform focused on Ethereum-native asset management and staking strategies."

The practices of these companies indicate that incorporating Ether into corporate treasuries is no longer a simple store of value, but rather a proactive and complex asset management strategy. They transform Ether from a static asset into a dynamic asset capable of generating continuous cash flow through various financial instruments such as staking, re-staking, DeFi lending, and derivatives.

Conclusion

The BTCS distribution of the world's first Ethereum dividend is undoubtedly a significant highlight in the history of encryption. It not only provides a new imaginative space for listed companies on how to reward shareholders, but also declares in the most straightforward way: Ethereum is moving from the margins to the center, evolving from a tool for technicians to a financial asset that Wall Street can trust and use.

As an analyst stated: "ETH is no longer just powering the network, it is now starting to pay dividends. And this will change everything." In the future, we may see more companies following suit, as a new era of corporate finance driven by crypto assets quietly begins.

#ETH hits a new all-time high