BTCS pays dividends in Ethereum to combat short selling

BTCS Inc. (ticker BTCS), an Ethereum validator and cryptocurrency treasury management company, has announced that it will pay a one-time dividend in ETH, becoming one of the few publicly traded companies to reward shareholders directly with cryptocurrency instead of cash or stock.

Shareholders will receive a “Bividend” worth $0.05 per share along with a “loyalty payment” of $0.35 per share (paid only in ETH) if they transfer their shares to the company’s transfer agent for at least 120 days. This is intended to reduce the supply of shares available for short selling.

CEO Charles Allen emphasized that the company’s goal is to increase market capitalization through rising stock prices rather than dilution. BTCS currently has a short-selling ratio of 7.3% of its outstanding shares, a level that is not too high but reflects certain pressure from bears.

BTCS is considered the first U.S. company to pay dividends in cryptocurrency, having made headlines in 2022 when it announced a dividend in Bitcoin. Founded in 2014, BTCS stock has risen nearly 70% since the beginning of 2025, thanks to a wave of Ethereum treasury companies, even though it recently reported a net loss of $13.39 million over the past 6 months due to blockchain service infrastructure investments.