BitMine reported a net loss of $83.6 million for its fiscal third quarter ended May 31, 2026, as losses from Ethereum options trading more than doubled the company's staking revenue. The bitcoin miner lost $92.1 million on ETH options during the quarter, compared to $46 million earned from staking, according to its latest financial filing.
Options losses overshadow staking gains
The Q3 numbers tell a stark story. Staking and validation revenue hit $45.7 million — 98% of total revenue, which surged to $46.5 million from $2.1 million a year earlier. But derivative losses of $92.1 million ate all of that and more, pushing the quarter into the red. Over the first nine months of the fiscal year, the pattern holds: derivative losses totaled $133.3 million, while staking income was $56.9 million. The company's options strategy primarily involves selling put options as part of treasury management — a bet that ETH prices won't fall below a certain level. That bet hasn't paid off.
Share dilution accelerates
BitMine has been funding its ETH purchases by selling shares at a furious pace. Over nine months, it sold 340.7 million shares, raising $11.87 billion. It spent $11.69 billion of that on Ethereum. Outstanding common shares jumped 149%, from 232.4 million to 579.7 million. Shareholders approved an increase in authorized common shares from 500 million to 50 billion back in January 2026 — a 100-fold expansion that gives the company room to keep diluting. General and administrative expenses ballooned to $37.3 million from $744,000 a year earlier, partly reflecting the cost of managing this capital machine.
Unrealized losses pile up
As of May 31, BitMine held 5.42 million ETH with a cumulative cost basis of $19.05 billion. At current market prices, that stash is worth $10.86 billion — 43% below cost. Over nine months, unrealized digital-asset losses hit $9.04 billion, contributing to a total net loss of $9.1 billion. The company is sitting on a mountain of underwater ETH, and the options losses only add to the pain.
BitMine's approach — selling puts to generate premium while buying the underlying asset — worked when ETH was rallying. But the market has turned, and the losses are mounting. The company hasn't signaled a change in strategy, but the math is getting harder. With authorized shares now at 50 billion, it can keep raising capital, but each new share dilutes existing holders further. The next quarterly report will show whether BitMine has adjusted its options play or doubled down.
