The share price of Bitcoin miner BIT Mining soared 143% on Thursday after the company announced plans to raise $200-$300 million to create a Solana Treasury and convert its existing holdings into SOL.
Akron, Ohio-based BIT Mining was recently trading for over $5 a share, according to Yahoo Finance. The company’s share price has lingered below $3 for much of this year.
“We are excited to take this bold step into what we believe is one of the most dynamic and promising ecosystems in the blockchain space,” BIT Mining CEO Xianfeng Yang said.
The announcement comes as miners have faced increasing headwinds, including smaller rewards and rising mining difficulty. BIT Mining’s share price remains way off its all-time high of over $200 set in early 2021, according to Yahoo Finance.
BIT Mining mainly focuses on Bitcoin, but it has branched out into mining other digital coins.
SOL is the sixth biggest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $83.9 billion. Developers use the Solana blockchain for a range of projects, including crypto exchanges, meme coins and games. They have favored the network over rival Ethereum because of its speed and efficiency.
Companies inside and outside the crypto space are buying Bitcoin and other digital assets to generate better returns for their shareholders. Major crypto treasury companies now include publicly traded firms Semler Scientific and Metaplanet.
Strategy—formerly MicroStrategy—was the first publicly traded company to start a Bitcoin-buying masterplan. The company now holds 597,325 BTC worth $66.4 billion, according to the company’s website.
