By Ateev Bhandari

(Reuters) -The Ether Machine has raised $654 million worth of ether in private financing, it said on Tuesday, as the cryptocurrency firm expands its treasury strategy ahead of its Nasdaq listing later this year.

The 150,000 ether - invested by longtime ethereum proponent Jeffrey Berns - will be delivered to its wallet later this week, the company said.

Berns will also join the company's board of directors.

As cryptocurrencies gain favor across corporate treasuries, ether stands out for its yield-generating ability. Holders can lock up their tokens to support the ethereum network in exchange for rewards, earning active returns.

Ether Machine's financing comes less than two months after it was formed via a merger between the Ether Reserve and blank-check firm Dynamix Corporation.

The deal was initially expected to raise over $1.6 billion, with investors like Blockchain.com, Kraken, and Pantera Capital.

Ether Machine is now expected to go public with over 495,362 ether, the world's second largest cryptocurrency, worth $2.16 billion, and another $367.1 million remaining in capital to acquire additional ether.

THIRD ROUND

When buying crypto, treasury companies try to minimize dilution via instruments like convertible debt or preferred stock to maximize their crypto holdings per share.

"Between the issuance of debt and the ability to do on chain yield generation that surpasses exchange traded funds, we believe that we should be able to sustain a multiple-to-net asset value (mNAV) in perpetuity," co-founder and Chairman Andrew Keys told Reuters in an interview.

mNAV compares the market capitalization of a company to the actual value of the assets they own.

With the Nasdaq listing expected to close next quarter, the Ether Machine is continuing fundraising, Keys said.

"Citibank is leading our third capital raising round," Keys said, adding that it would be at least $500 million.

"It starts on Wednesday."