#773 Bividend - The World's First Bitcoin Dividend w/ Charles Allen
1/6/2022 · 36 min · transcript via mlx
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Key topics
— BTCS announced the world's first Bitcoin dividend (called a "Bividen") paid from their corporate balance sheet to shareholders, who can elect to receive it in cash or Bitcoin.
— The company holds $3.56 in cash and crypto per share on its balance sheet but was trading at $3 per share, creating a valuation disconnect that prompted the dividend action.
— BTCS's core business focuses on running validator nodes on proof-of-stake blockchains (primarily Ethereum) and operating a staking-as-a-service platform, generating $1.2 million in audited revenue during 2021 with 84% gross margins.
— The company built an analytics dashboard and non-custodial staking platform to help users consolidate exchange data and delegate tokens to BTCS validator nodes at lower fees than custodial alternatives like Coinbase or Kraken.
— Accounting rules under US GAAP require crypto holdings to be marked at their lowest historical cost until realization, creating an artificial undervaluation that cannot be easily corrected without raising regulatory concerns.
— BTCS avoids DeFi exposure due to auditability challenges for public companies; instead they custody Bitcoin and staked assets through multi-signature wallets and approved custodians.
Market & price signals
— The BTCS stock price moved up substantially on the dividend announcement day, with approximately 25 million shares traded. The stock was trading at approximately $3 per share while holding $3.56 per share in cash and crypto assets at fair market value, though only $13 million in crypto holdings appear on the balance sheet at historical low-price cost basis. The company disclosed $20 million in unrealized gains on cryptocurrency holdings that do not appear in reported financials due to US GAAP accounting rules.
Actionable insights
— If you hold BTCS shares, confirm you understand the opt-in process for receiving Bitcoin instead of cash; shareholders must move shares to the transfer agent (which BTCS covers) to be identified as record holders and receive the dividend.
— Monitor how regulatory treatment of this dividend develops; if successful, it could establish a template for other public companies with crypto holdings to distribute assets to shareholders, potentially signaling broader institutional acceptance of Bitcoin as a dividend asset.
— Consider the company's core staking business and validator node operation as distinct from its balance-sheet Bitcoin holdings; the real growth opportunity lies in delegated staking fees, not asset appreciation alone.
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