The Ether Machine has secured $654 million in private financing as part of its preparation for a Nasdaq listing later this year. The funding was led by Jeffrey Berns, a well-known Ethereum supporter and early investor in Web3 infrastructure.
Private Financing and Strategic Backing
According to Reuters, the financing round saw the company receive 150,000 Ether from Berns, who will also join the board of directors. The funds are scheduled to be transferred into the company’s wallet later this week. This move reinforces the Ether Machine’s position as one of the largest corporate holders of Ethereum.
The Ether Machine emerged from the merger of the Ether Reserve and blank-cheque firm Dynamix Corporation. While the initial ambition was to raise more than $1.5 billion from major investors such as Blockchain.com, Kraken and Pantera Capital, the company has since scaled back its targets while refining its long-term strategy.
Building a Substantial ETH Treasury
Following this financing, the Ether Machine is expected to hold more than 495,000 ETH, valued at roughly $2.16 billion. An additional $367 million has been earmarked for future Ether acquisitions. Data from StrategicETHReserve places the company as the third-largest corporate holder of Ethereum, with more than 345,400 ETH already on its balance sheet, outstripping even the Ethereum Foundation’s reported 231,600 ETH.
Top 15 Ether treasury companies. Source: StrategicETHReserve
The firm has stated that treasury companies such as itself often rely on convertible debt and preferred equity to raise funds while maintaining a healthy net asset value per share.
Yield Generation and Future Fundraising
Co-founder and chairman Andrew Keys said the Ether Machine’s on-chain yield generation strategy has been designed to deliver stronger returns than traditional exchange-traded funds. “Between debt issuance and yield mechanics, we believe we can maintain a market premium over our net asset value indefinitely,” Keys told Reuters.
In addition, the company is preparing a third fundraising round led by Citibank. Scheduled to begin on Wednesday, the round is targeting at least $500 million to further strengthen the firm’s capital reserves.
Whale Investor Shifts Billions from Bitcoin to Ether
In a parallel development, a mysterious crypto whale holding more than $11 billion in Bitcoin has been steadily rotating assets into Ether. The investor recently exchanged $215 million worth of Bitcoin for $216 million in Ether via Hyperliquid, bringing their total holdings to 886,371 ETH, now worth more than $4 billion.
The rotation began on 21 August, when the whale sold $2.59 billion in Bitcoin to build a $2.2 billion spot Ether position alongside $577 million in perpetual longs. After closing part of the leveraged trade with a $33 million profit, the investor resumed direct Ether purchases, further boosting their exposure to the asset.
Nasdaq Debut in Sight
With its strengthened balance sheet and growing Ether reserves, the Ether Machine is positioning itself as a significant force in Ethereum markets. If its Nasdaq listing proceeds as planned, the company will enter public markets with one of the largest ETH treasuries in the corporate world, underlining Ethereum’s increasing appeal among institutional investors.
