비트디지털(BTBT) 2026년 2분기 실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜: 클라우드 성장, 화이트 파이버 파이낸싱 및 자사주 매입 검토

핵심 요약

• 2분기 매출은 전분기 대비 15% 증가한 3,210만 달러를 기록했으며, 매출총이익은 1,860만 달러, 매출총이익률은 57.9%를 나타냈습니다.
• 비트 디지털 주주에게 귀속되는 순손실은 1억 720만 달러(주당 0.31달러)였습니다. 경영진은 손실 중 약 8,600만 달러가 디지털 자산 관련 항목, 파생상품 재평가 및 이자비용 때문이라고 밝혔습니다.
• 신규 계약의 서비스 개시와 기존 계약 확장에 힘입어 클라우드 서비스 매출은 전분기 대비 42% 증가한 2,380만 달러를 기록했습니다.
• 비트 디지털은 보유 이더리움 일부를 담보로 5,000만 달러를 조달했으며, 화이트 파이버에 최대 1억 5,000만 달러 규모의 분할인출 대출 한도(delayed-draw term facility)를 제공했습니다. 경영진은 이 구조를 통해 이더리움 포지션을 보존하고 양사 모두 주식 발행을 피할 수 있었다고 밝혔습니다.
• 분기 말 기준 잔여이행의무(RPO)는 약 10억 달러였습니다. 회사는 2026년 남은 기간 동안 5,770만 달러, 2027년에 1억 3,670만 달러, 2028년에 1억 510만 달러를 인식하고 나머지는 그 이후에 인식할 것으로 예상합니다.
• 경영진은 BTBT 주가가 순자산가치(NAV) 대비 40% 넘게 할인되어 거래되기도 한 것으로 추정함에 따라 이사회에서 자사주 매입 가능성을 검토하고 있습니다. 결정된 사항이나 시기는 발표되지 않았습니다.

핵심 재무 데이터

사업 및 영업 실적

클라우드 서비스가 주요 성장 동력이었습니다. 신규 계약의 서비스 개시 및 기존 계약 확장에 힘입어 매출은 전분기 대비 42% 증가한 2,380만 달러를 기록했습니다. 상반기 클라우드 서비스 매출은 전년 동기 대비 29% 증가했으며 매출총이익률은 58%였습니다.

콜로케이션 서비스는 170만 달러의 매출과 63%의 매출총이익률을 기록했습니다. 상반기 콜로케이션 매출은 전년 동기 대비 182% 증가했습니다. 경영진은 NC1이 아직 보고된 실적에 기여하지 않았으며 3분기부터 기여하기 시작할 것으로 예상된다고 밝혔습니다.

화이트 파이버의 노스캐롤라이나 플래그십 시설에서는 초기 용량이 인도되었고 고객 배포 및 테스트가 진행 중이며 청구가 시작되었습니다. 경영진은 화이트 파이버가 엔스케일(Enscale)과의 10년 계약에 따라 8월 말 계약 매출 약 8억 6,500만 달러에 해당하는 전체 계약 청구 실행율(run rate)에 도달할 것으로 예상한다고 밝혔습니다.

화이트 파이버는 차세대 GPU 배포 및 매니지드 서비스 계약을 포함해 총 계약 가치가 5억 달러를 상회하는 신규 계약도 체결했습니다.

이더리움 스테이킹 매출은 전분기 대비 감소한 90만 달러를 기록했습니다. 비트 디지털은 1분기 949 ETH에 비해 440 ETH의 스테이킹 보상을 획득했습니다. 경영진은 매출 감소의 원인이 화이트 파이버 자금 조달 거래에 이더리움 포지션 일부를 사용한 점과 해당 분기 중 이더리움 가격이 하락했기 때문이라고 설명했습니다.

비트 디지털이 채굴 사업을 지속적으로 축소함에 따라 채굴 매출은 240만 달러로 줄었습니다. 회사는 1분기 48.1 비트코인에서 감소한 32.3 비트코인을 채굴하면서도 26%의 플러스 매출총이익률을 유지했습니다. 인프라 및 스테이킹 비중은 전년 동기 70%에서 증가하여 매출의 89%를 차지했습니다.

6월 30일 기준 비트 디지털은 공정가치 1억 1,890만 달러에 해당하는 75,757 ETH를 직접 보유하고 있었습니다. 해당 분기 동안 ETH당 평균 2,334달러의 단가로 2,000만 달러에 8,568 ETH를 매수했습니다. 또한 회사는 투자증권 항목으로 분류된 외부 위탁 관리 펀드를 통해 4,790만 달러 규모의 이더리움 관련 익스포저를 보고했습니다.

경영진 전망

경영진은 NC1이 3분기부터 매출에 기여하기 시작할 것으로 예상합니다. 화이트 파이버는 해당 시설에 대한 영구 프로젝트 파이낸싱(PF)을 추진하고 있습니다. 자금 조달이 완료되면 비트 디지털의 브릿지 대출을 상환하고 관련 이더리움 담보를 해제하여 노스캐롤라이나에 투자된 자금을 향후 데이터 센터 프로젝트에 재투자할 수 있게 됩니다.

약 10억 달러의 잔여이행의무 중 비트 디지털은 2026년 남은 기간 동안 5,770만 달러, 2027년에 1억 3,670만 달러, 2028년에 1억 510만 달러를 인식하고 나머지는 그 이후에 인식할 것으로 예상합니다.

비트 디지털은 2026년 중에 화이트 파이버 주식을 매각할 의사가 없음을 재확인했습니다. 회사는 주식 등록 및 이사회 승인을 조건으로, 프리미엄 수익을 창출하기 위해 보유 지분 일부에 대한 제한적인 커버드콜 프로그램을 검토 중입니다.

리스크 및 주요 관전 포인트

분기 손실에는 디지털 자산에 대한 2,880만 달러의 공정가치 평가손실, 화이트 파이버 자금 조달에 사용된 유동성 스테이킹 자산 관련 4,600만 달러의 비현금성 손상차손, 전환사채 파생상품 부채 재평가에 따른 1,400만 달러의 손실 및 810만 달러의 이자비용이 포함되었습니다.

이더리움을 자금 조달 담보로 사용하는 것은 마진콜 리스크를 수반합니다. 경영진은 합리적이라고 판단되는 수준을 넘어서는 시장 변동에 견딜 수 있도록 설계된 추가 이더리움 버퍼를 확보해 두었다고 밝혔습니다.

NC1에 대한 영구 자금 조달은 완료되지 않았습니다. 담보 해제, 화이트 파이버의 보증 종료 및 브릿지 대출 상환은 해당 자금 조달 여부에 달려 있습니다.

자사주 매입 가능성은 여전히 이사회에서 검토 중입니다. 경영진은 시기, 규모 또는 자금 조달 원천을 밝히지 않았습니다. 커버드콜 전략 역시 평가 단계이며 이사회 승인이 필요합니다.

애널리스트 Q&A 주요 내용

경영진은 BTBT의 순자산가치 대비 할인율(때로는 40%~43%로 추정)을 수용할 수 없는 수준으로 판단해 자사주 매입을 적극적으로 논의 중이라고 밝혔습니다. 다만 회사는 진행 여부나 시기를 아직 결정하지 않았습니다.

비트 디지털은 올해 해당 지분을 줄이지 않기로 약속했기 때문에 화이트 파이버 주식을 매각해 2026년 자사주 매입 자금을 조달할 계획이 없습니다. 향후 잠재적인 유동성 원천에는 추후 화이트 파이버 지분 일부 매각이 포함될 수 있지만, 시기는 제시되지 않았습니다.

화이트 파이버 브릿지 대출의 예상 상환금은 자사주 매입 자금으로 자동 충당되기보다는 주로 이더리움 담보 차입을 해소하는 데 사용될 예정입니다. 경영진은 브릿지 대출이 포기한 이더리움 스테이킹 수익보다 더 높은 수익을 창출한다고 강조했습니다.

최근 주식 발행에 관한 질문에 경영진은 장내 주식 발행(ATM) 프로그램이 건설 지출에 필요한 현금을 제공한 반면, 이더리움 매수는 별도의 자본 배분 결정이었다고 밝혔습니다. 경영진은 현재 밸류에이션 수준에서 주식을 발행하는 것은 매우 주저할 것이라고 덧붙였습니다.

실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 전문

전체 실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 녹취록

경영진 발표

Operator

Hello, and welcome to the Bit Digital Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. We'll begin shortly. During the call, all participant lines will be in listen-only mode. Following management's remarks, we will open the line for questions. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. I'll now turn the call over to your host, Daniel Kennedy, Head of Investor Relations at Bit Digital. Daniel, please go ahead.

Daniel Kelly Kennedy

Thank you, and good morning. Joining me today are Sam Tabar, Chief Executive Officer; and Erke Huang, Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that today's discussion contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. For a discussion of these risks, please refer to our annual report on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports. We assume no obligation to update these statements. Certain matters discussed today, including potential capital allocation initiatives remain subject to Board and shareholder approval in accordance with Cayman Island Law, where applicable.

Throughout the call, we may also refer to non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures can be found in our earnings materials available on our website. Unless otherwise indicated, figures discussed during these remarks are rounded for readability. With that, I'll turn the call over to Sam.

Samir Tabar

Thank you, Daniel, and good morning. This quarter was about capital allocation. Every decision started with the same question, how do we create the most long-term value from the assets already on our balance sheet. Bit Digital is positioned to secure the infrastructure for what we believe are the 2 most important sectors in economic history, digital assets, which will settle on Ethereum, and artificial intelligence, which is powered by data centers. Ethereum is our position in the first and white fiber is our position in the second. Two distinct assets connected by 1 capital allocation model. Few companies offer a meaningful exposure to both sides of that build-out, and fewer even still actively allocate capital between them.

Our conviction on Ethereum has not changed. The price did. Ethereum spent most of the quarter below $2,000, and I'm not going to pretend that was comfortable. Bit Digital is 1 of the largest public corporate holders of Ethereum that does not make us a digital asset treasury, and it is not what we are trying to be. The goal has never been to hold the most Ethe. It is to get the most out of Ethe that we hold. Neither purely AI infrastructure nor a digital asset treasury neither and yet both. What we are building towards is the convergence of the 2. Assets positioned for where the economy is going rather than where it is today.

Our theory and treasury has managed the way a company manages cash like reserves. It earns while we hold it and it becomes capital that can be put to work when the right opportunity appears. Unlike a traditional reserve, it generates a protocol native return and also serves as a source of liquidity. That is exactly what happened early in the quarter. White Fiber sought additional capital to bridge its investment in its flagship facility in North Carolina to permanent project financing and to support broader growth initiatives. Together, the company has evaluated a range of financing alternatives. They ultimately pursued a related party bridge facility. This provided white fiber with efficient access to capital while preserving strategic flexibility and avoiding near-term dilution.

Against a portion of our Ethereum, we raised $50 million of liquidity and then use our own balance sheet to originate a delayed draw term facility for White fiber commitments of up to $150 million guaranteed by the White fiber parent. The transaction preserved our Ethereum position, avoided issuing equity at either company and allowed us to maintain our ownership interest in White Fiber. Independent committees at both companies reviewed it and Needham and Seaport delivered fairness opinions to their respective boards. We chose to provide the facility because it offered an efficient way to support our investments in White Fiber while generating an attractive return above the stake in yield available on Ethereum. The principal risk and a structure like this is, of course, margin calls. That was considered as well, so an additional buffer of Ethereum is held against it, size to withstand market moves well beyond what we consider reasonable.

The facility was designed as a temporary bridge to permanent financing for the initial 40-megawatt build-out in our flagship facility in North Carolina. That facility is anchored by end scale and its investment-grade off-taker. Upon permanent financing, our collateral is released and the guarantee terminates. The facility is repaid with interest, more than the staking income that we gave up and without giving up any upside. One decision in one quarter, but it contains the essence of the strategy. We approach our assets differently than a buy-and-hold treasury because every dollar, every [indiscernible] and every share should be maximally productive. And that is what we mean by a strategic asset company. The assets themselves are not the differentiator. It is how we deploy them. Eric will now take you through the details of the quarter.

Erke Huang

Thank you, Dan. Good morning, everyone. Our results consolidate White Fiber in full with a portion attributable to noncontrolling interest. Second quarter revenue was $32.1 million, up 15% from $27.9 million in the first quarter. For the 6 months, revenue was $60 million, up 18% year-over-year. Gross profit for the second quarter was $18.6 million, a gross margin of 57.9%. Operating cash flow for 6 months was $46.8 million, up 33% from $35.1 million in the same period last year. Net loss attributable to Bit Digital shareholders was $107.2 million or $0.31 per share. Taken together, the digital asset items, the derivative revaluation and interest expense account for approximately $86 million of the loss. I'll take each in -- turning to our operating segments. Cloud Services revenue was $23.8 million, up 42% sequentially, driven by new contracts entering service and expansion of existing agreements.

For the 6 months, sales revenue increased 29% year-over-year and a gross margin of 58%. Colocation services revenue for the second quarter was $1.7 million, essentially flat sequentially with a 63% gross margin. For the first half, colocation revenue increased 182% year-over-year. and C1 has not yet reflected in those results and expected to begin contributing in the third quarter. Etherum taken revenue was $0.9 million compared to $2.3 million in the first quarter. Though for the 6-month state revenue increased 246% year-over-year. We earned 440 in state rewards during the quarter against 949 in the first. The sequential decline reflects our decision to offtake a portion of Etherum to characterize the facility Tim described as well as the decline Etherum price during this quarter.

Digital assets Mining revenue was $2.4 million on a 32.3-Bitcoin mined, compared to 48.1 Bitcoin in the first quarter. For the 6 months, mining revenue declined 58% year-over-year as expected as we continue to wind down that business. remains solid gross margin positive and 26% for the second quarter. Turning to the items that do not reflect the operating performance. We recorded $28.8 million of loss on digital assets carried at fair value, reflecting market-to-market movement on our ECM and Bitcoin Holdings. We also recorded a $46 million noncash impairment on liquid states used in the White Fiber financing transaction that reflects the accounting treatment of the position and does not represent a realized loss.

Separately, there was a $14 million loss from the change in fair value of the derivative liability associated with our convertible notes, and $8.1 million in interest expense, neither reflects operating performance. Turning to the balance sheet and treasury. On May 11, we purchased 8,568 for $20 million at an average cost of $2,334 per [indiscernible] and so now during the quarter. never break down the positions as of June 30. We held 75,757 Ethe directly carry a fair value of $118.9 million. That includes Etherum late service stakes through our validated banner. In April, we netted 73,235 ETM and received 66,192 LSCTH tokens in exchange. We also saw the exposure through [indiscernible] exposure through an externally managed bond carried at $47.9 million within investment securities. Liquid [indiscernible] as a separate asset from tenor content purposes, which is why it is online under a different measurement basis.

Our underlying economic exposure remains unchanged. Cash and cash equivalents were approximately $83.6 million on a consolidated basis, of which approximately $27.5 billion was held at Bit Digital and 56.1 million in White Fiber. Contract liabilities nearly doubled to $143.1 million from $79.6 million at year-end that represents revenue already contracted and cash already collected for services we have yet to deliver. Finally, remaining performance obligations were approximately $1 billion at quarter end. We expect to recognize approximately $57.7 million across the balance of 2026 million. $136.7 million in 2027 and $105.1 million in 2028 with the remainder thereafter.

To put that in context, the 2027 figure alone is more than we earned in all of 2025. None of it appeared in the revenue line today. With that, I'll turn the call back to Sam.

Samir Tabar

Thank you, Erke. We own a Etherum because we believe it will appreciate over time and generate attractive long-term returns for our shareholders. That has always been a part of our investment thesis. The second quarter was the third consecutive quarter at Etherum cost lower, but volatility is not new to us. We operated through multiple market cycles, and our approach has remained consistent throughout all of them. We also share the belief that the market price of Ethe has yet to reflect the value of the network. In our view, it is undervalued relative to what it is becoming. The fundamentals moved in 1 direction this quarter, the price moved in the other. That disconnect has not gone unnoticed.

Across the Ethereum ecosystem, there is growing recognition that the success of the network and the performance of the asset are closely linked. Price does matter. The bold case for Ethe is not standing still. Robin Hood launched its own Layer 2 on Ethereum, supporting a platform with roughly 28 million customers and $370 billion in assets with fees paid in Ethe. BlackRock launched 2 tokenized money market products this month and JPMorgan continues to expand its own tokenization footprint. Tokenized real-world assets on public blockchains now surpass $31 billion with roughly 2/3 settling on Ethereum.

And the institutional layer around the network keeps building, Etherum institutional, which launched with more than 500 existing institutional relationships alongside Ethe Labs, E-Systems and etherialize. These are not isolated announcements. Financial activity is migrating on to programmable settlement rails and as that activity grows so does the demand for Ethereum's block space, its security and its native asset. We remain confident the value of the asset will ultimately converge with its growing utility and adoption. That conviction shaped 1 of our most important decisions this quarter. Rather than selling Ethereum or issuing equity, we used our balance sheet to finance white fiber while preserving our long-term exposure to the Ethe asset. The next phase is execution. We expect the third quarter to begin reflecting what we have been building. Turning briefly to White Fiber, our other major strategic asset. Our conviction and its long-term potential remains very strong. And as previously stated, we do not intend to sell White Fabre shares this year. But the same standard applies here as everywhere else.

We look for ways to make a position productive without reducing it. One approach on evaluation is writing out of the money covered calls against a limited portion of our holdings to generate premium income. That would require registering those shares. Registration creates flexibility. It is not a step towards exiting. Any such program will be modest in scope and subject to board approval, and we would retain substantial long-term exposure. We have no interest in a transaction that impairs an asset that we own the majority of. We had White Fiber's quarterly call yesterday, and I strongly recommend that you listen to it. It is posted on x, but I'll mention a few words here. White Fiber is entering an important growth phase across both colocation and cloud services. At White Fiber's flagship facility, initial capacity has been delivered customer deployment and testing is underway and billing has commenced.

White fiber expects to reach the full contracted run rate building later this month under its 10-year agreement with scale representing approximately $865 million of contracted revenue. White Fiber is also expanding a substantial development pipeline and focusing its resources on the opportunities best for it to move excuse me -- best position to move forward. As NCN, our flagship facility reaches full contracted operations, White Fiber is pursuing permanent project financing that, if completed, would allow us to recycle the capital that we invested in North Carolina into the next data center. That is how the flywheel begins to turn, develop infrastructure, secure long-term customers, finance stabilized assets and redeploy capital into the next opportunity. Momentum in cloud services has also accelerated since our last earnings call White Fiber has signed new contracts representing more than $500 million of aggregate contract value, including the next-generation GP deployments and a capital-efficient managed services agreement.

So for Bit Digital, for Bit Digital shareholders, that means an increasingly valuable operating asset with greater revenue visibility, stronger cash flow potential and the ability to fund its own growth. That is the model at both levels. Our strategy has never been to passively accumulate Ethe. It is to build a productive balance sheet assets that earn while they appreciate, assets that finance operating businesses, businesses that generate recurring cash flow and cash flow that gets reinvested into productive assets. That is our strategic asset flywheel and we believe we are early, early to running a company where the treasury itself is productive capital rather than a static position.

We expect that to become a more common model we intend to be further along when it does. The transition in our business is already visible. Infrastructure and staking now represent 89% of our revenue against 70% a year ago. Capital is moving out of our mining business with limited terminal value and into assets that produce. Our operating results improved through the quarter. Our valuation did not. Today, the market is to value Bit Digital primarily as a digital asset treasury. A treasury strategy is fundamentally passive. You buy the asset, you hold it, you wait for the next cycle. That's not what happened here. We allocated capital. We financed an asset we already own. We preserved our Etherum position, and we avoided dilution at both companies. Those are growth company decisions. yet our valuation continues to reflect a passive treasury. That is a fundamental disconnect.

Using observable market values for the assets that we own, we believe Bit Digital continues to trade at a significant discount to its intrinsic value. We monitor that discount closely daily. It has been persistent. And at times, it has exceeded 40% by our calculations. At this discount, buying our own equity is 1 of the highest return uses of capital available and the wider the gap the more accretive it becomes. We intend to take an active role in closing that gap. The Board is evaluating those opportunities in real time alongside our liquidity needs and other priorities. Addressing the discount also expands what we can do next. We continue to look for opportunities to deploy capital in revenue-generating businesses.

And based on our current analysis, one conclusion stands out the best investment available to Bit Digital may be ultimately Bit Digital itself. To our long-term shareholders, the reason to own Bit Digital is to gain exposure to the settlement layer of digital finance combined with the HPC infrastructure that will run on top of it. This is all supported by a productive balance sheet that allocates the capital generates into additional strategic assets. That is the strategic asset company model. Markets can take time to recognize a differentiated model. But when the underlying assets begin producing visible cash flow, and management demonstrates that we'll actively defend value per share, that recognition can happen quickly.

We believe Bit Digital is soon approaching that point. And if the market will not close the gap between what we own and how it's valued, we are considering closing it ourselves. We'll now open the line for questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] We'll go first to Nick Giles with B. Riley Securities.

질의응답

Nick Giles

I appreciate the update. Sam, it was really interesting to hear you just speak to the prospect of a buyback there. I was just hoping for more details on potential timing, when the Board would ultimately make a decision on something like that? And then should we assume that it would be using the wind down of the WiFi stake? I heard you kind of recommit to maintaining that ownership position in 2026. So should we think about this as more of a 2027 type of event?

Samir Tabar

Nick, I can't give details on the exact timing of that. The Board is still considering how and when to do that. But I can tell you that it is a very vigorous discussion that we're having. We think the 40% or sometimes even 43% discount to NAV is unacceptable and makes no sense. So the way to close that obviously is considering a buyback. You're right. We did today recommit to not selling our shares in White Fiber. And the reason for that is, frankly, greed. We believe that White Fiber is going to do extraordinarily well. And we just don't want to sell down that position prematurely, that would be shooting ourselves in the foot. So we're very excited by White Fiber's progress. We believe that the market capital continue to be favorable in terms of size and growth, and we're very excited by White Fiber's future.

And of course, as White Fiber becomes larger, when we start selling down that position, it will be even more proceeds that come to Bit Digital, which is a very positive thing for the Digital shareholders. So time is our friend there. And I can't give you the exact time, but we are we are talking about it quite often, and we look forward to future announcements once we get some clear visibility on how and when.

Nick Giles

Well, that's very good to hear. I appreciate that perspective, Sam. I think just next question was you spoke to the different ways you're using the balance sheet kind of getting creative there. And I heard you mention the covered calls, just was curious on potential timing around that opportunity and how you kind of would frame up returns on doing that.

Samir Tabar

Yes. Erke, do you want to take that question?

Erke Huang

Sure. In terms of timing, I think we're coordinating with White Fiber for registration statement potentially later this quarter. And we're working with a few banks for their execution. So currently we do not have an exact like pricing yet, but we should be able to talk about it, and we will have the registration done and more proposals in the execution of our desk.

Operator

We'll take our next question from George Sutton with Craig-Hallum.

George Sutton

So I am confident that you will soon have a facility on NC1. And can you just walk through the scenario of that happening, let's hypothetically assume that has happened? You will then get an inflow of cash. I assume that would be part of the fuel for a significant buyback. Am I thinking about that the right way?

Samir Tabar

I'll let Eric talk about it. But just high level, the buyback can come, there are multiple sources of liquidity for a potential buyback. Of course, there's app, but there's also selling down our our White Fiber shares in the future. So there are different sources of liquidity, not just this facility being paid back. But I'll hand it over to Eric, so he can double-click on that.

Erke Huang

Yes. For the bridge facility we had with White Fiber is relatively short term, is 90 days to like half the year towards the end of this year. So once the NC1 coming on financing down the White Fiber will obviously pay back a bridge and will use the proceeds we received to unwind our [indiscernible] borrowing with tax in this scenario. So not necessarily using to do a buyback, but this is generating additional yield or revenue for the Bit Digital in a meaningful way compared to native staking?

Samir Tabar

We're still trying to figure out what source of liquidity will do to consider a buyback. It hasn't been decided yet. But I do want to highlight that the return that we got on the bridge facility is higher than what we would have received on staking.

George Sutton

Understand. And sorry to get geeky on Ethereum, but a couple of things. I'm just curious your thoughts on EIP-8363, which would reduce the issuance relative to staking. Just curious your thoughts on that. And then also on the Glamsterdam hard floor coming up later this year, what do you think that does for Ethan your stake?

Samir Tabar

I've been looking at the Athyrium ecosystem and what's happening on the moves that are being taken to promote the price of Ethereum. So as mentioned, there's been some companies that have launched recently like Ethe Institutional Atheriaize and to other companies such as EtheLabs and Ethe Systems. And those companies are focused on not the geeky part of Ethereum, but rather getting institutional adoption accelerated and protecting and promoting the price out there. So that's where my focus has been, and I haven't been really focused on the engineering aspect of Ethereum block space. I'm not informed enough to give you a good answer on those questions.

Operator

We'll take our next question from Brian Dobson with Clear Street LLC.

Brian Dobson

So in the press release, you mentioned, of course, that White Fiber is a core holding, would you consider selling just a portion of it in order to finance a repo and take advantage of the valuation discrepancy between the 2 stocks. And I guess on that subject, is there anything in your, call it, portfolio potential investments that, in your view, might generate a greater return than repurchasing the digital shares?

Samir Tabar

Well, we think that repurchasing Bit Digital shares could be a pretty good investment. But again, that's a discussion happening at the Board. And going back to your question about whether we would use the proceeds from selling down White Fiber and buying back our shares. That is definitely something we're considering. But in terms of the timing, I don't think we'll be doing that. We won't be using proceeds from white fiber to do that only because we've already committed to the markets that we will not be selling down our White Fiber shares this year. If we were to do a buyback program this year, it will not be with the proceeds of White fiber. But we have no idea what the timing of the -- we're just considering it. We're just talking about it. It's on our menu, and it's a very attractive dish on our menu for obvious reasons. But in terms of whether we do it and the timing is still up in the air.

Brian Dobson

Yes, very good. And then yesterday's White Fiber call was very positive. [indiscernible] business is very encouraging. I suppose is that part of the business as that company continues to gain traction? Do you think that, that will help to erode the NAV discount that the Bit Digital is experiencing

Samir Tabar

Well, I think so. I mean look, if you compare -- I don't want to -- this is kind of a tough thing to say, but if you compare Bit Digital to its peers. Now we're not a digital asset treasury company, so it's a bit apples-to-apples. But we're performing -- we're outperforming on a relative basis. And I think a lot of that has to do with the White Fiber holding. So I think the white fiber holding very much helps the share price. I can't talk too much about the share price, but I think it's -- it's a positive thing towards the share price, but it does sometimes create a larger disconnect on the NAV. And it's -- and that's why we think there's a capital markets disconnect on BTBT, and we're thinking about correcting it but considering a buyback program because of that disconnection.

Operator

Our next question from Raymond Edings with Missouri Trust.

Unknown Analyst

Thanks for the call today. If we can talk for a second about I guess, the opposite of a buyback. It looks like share count went up about 25 million shares in the last quarter. And I know you said you didn't issue shares for the White Fiber allocation or to fund Ethereum purchases. Wondering if you can just talk a little bit about what were shares issued for this quarter.

Samir Tabar

Yes. I mean, look, we would strongly hesitate to issue equity at these levels today. There would be some pretty strong hesitation. Our capital priorities changed as the discount widened through the quarter. And that change is exactly why the Board is now evaluating a buyback program. The Ethereum purchase and equity issuance were separate decisions. We bought Ethereum to lower our average cost while the ATM provided cash for construction spending, each decision made sense based on the circumstances at the time. I think what changed is the gap between our market value and the value of our assets. That is the allocation test working and at that point, somewhere different than it did in spring.

Unknown Analyst

Okay. What was the approximate at the money sales pricing.

Samir Tabar

I'll leave that with Eric. I don't have that exact data point, and I'm unsure if we're...

Erke Huang

Could you repeat your question again? I'm sorry.

Unknown Analyst

Yes. And I guess, really, my question is relative to the discount. So I know you've said 40% or more is way out of line. I was wondering if we can expect you may issue shares for corporate purposes at a 10% or 20% discount but buy them back in at a 30% or 40% discount.

Erke Huang

I see. It's not -- I understand your question now. It's not a -- there's no certain number in mind it will depend on what those purposes are and if the purpose is for a better return than what the discount is, then obviously, we think about it. But there's no specific number in mind that we have. There's no like, oh, it's minus -- it's like 20% disconnect now. we can use the ETM, but we don't think of it that way. It's not a quantifiable number.

And just want to add probably for technical reasons and legal reasons we do not want to ingesting position like we're sort of trading our own stock. So like in a sense that all the decisions are made based on certain circumstances based on your working capital as capital allocation, et cetra. And we try to make decisions as long term as possible -- should not by the short-term rates.

Unknown Analyst

Okay. So the dilution this quarter -- all right. Sorry. Thanks, guys, for your time today.

Operator

Thank you. With no additional questions in queue. At this time, I'd like to turn the call back over to Sam for any additional or closing remarks.

Samir Tabar

Thank you for joining us today. We appreciate your continued interest and support. We look forward to speaking with you again next quarter. This officially concludes our call, and have a great day.

Operator

Thank you. That will conclude today's call. We appreciate your participation.