Nasdaq-Listed BTCS Company Offers ‘First-Ever’ Bitcoin Dividend
https://ift.tt/3F01bHm
Nasdaq-listed blockchain infrastructure and technology firm BTCS has announced it will become the “first-ever” company listed on the exchange to offer a dividend payable in bitcoin to its shareholders.
According to an announcement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), BTCS is set to pay a $0.05 per share dividend in bitcoin, based on the cryptocurrency’s price on its ex-dividend date of March 16. Shareholders will be paid on March 17 and can choose to instead receive the dividend in cash.
Dubbed the “Bividend” by BTCS, the dividend will require investors to opt-in to receive the BTC and provide their own bitcoin wallet. Shareholders would also need to complete steps like filling out a form with the SEC, which would require them to disclose some personal data.
Explaining the rationale behind the move Charles Allen, BTCS’ CEO, noted that the firm wants to reward its long-time shareholders and “encourage financial freedom by providing the means to enable direct ownership of Bitcoin and other digital assets.” Allen added:
This is a moment we have long anticipated since the Company purchased the domain, bividend.com, in February 2015. BTCS is now in the financial position required to execute on the Company’s vision.
Shareholders who do not wish to receive the bividend will instead receive $0.05 in cash. Whether future bividend payments will occur is unclear, as the firm wrote it’s “evaluating the appropriateness of future Bividends.”
Shares of BTCS saw their price jump over 40% after the bividend was announced to now trade above $4.3. According to CNBC, financial experts warn against investing in a firm simply because it’s distributing a dividend, as investors should instead focus on a company’s fundamentals.
The announcement comes amid a crypto market downturn caused by minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meeting in December suggesting the central bank is set to take a hawkish approach and start raising interest rates while reducing the size of its balance sheet. Despite the setbacks, analysts from Goldman Sachs have suggested BTC could hit $100,000 in the future if it takes some market share away from gold.
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.
IMAGE CREDIT
Featured image via Pixabay
Cryptocurrency
