Bit Digital begins ethereum staking operations; stock climbs over 9%

Bit Digital ( NASDAQ: BTBT ) said Thursday it has begun ethereum ( ETH-USD ) staking operations as it expands beyond its core bitcoin mining operation. Shares of the company, which ended 8.3% higher on Thursday, climbed 9.6% after the bell. The cryptocurrency miner will stake its ETH holdings to an ethereum validator node to secure the blockchain. Stakers will be compensated with the native network token. Bit Digital ( BTBT ) expects to derive revenue from the ethereum network via validator rewards. It also partnered with Blockdaemon, an institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure company for node management and staking. Bit Digital ( BTBT ) will participate in liquid staking via Portara, a liquid staking protocol developed by Blockdaemon and StakeWise. As of December 20, Bit Digital ( BTBT ) had 7.9K ETH and 2,004 sETH-h with a combined worth of ~$12.1M. It will continue accumulating ethereum and stake substantially all of its ETH position over time. "We are extremely bullish on ethereum. Following the network's transition to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, we expect ETH will exhibit deflationary properties over time as net issuance is substantially reduced and ETH-denominated fees are burned," said Bit Digital ( BTBT ) chief strategy officer Sam Tabar. The miner recently reported lower bitcoin output in November, hurt by higher network difficulty .