Companies are getting FOMO over strategic bitcoin reserves

The trend of keeping a company’s cash in bitcoin is picking up steam among businesses of all stripes and sizes as bitcoin continues its massive bull run, with bitcoin spot ETFs surpassing Satoshi’s stash of 1.1 million bitcoin.

MicroStrategy set the bar (very) high, and several companies are trying to replicate the mega stockpiler’s effort. 

Earlier this week, Marathon Digital announced aggressive bitcoin-buying plans following the upsizing of its senior-note offering to $850 million. Marathon CEO Fred Thiel said on X it was “looking forward to chasing” MicroStrategy and “watching $MSTR accumulate more BTC.”

As for MicroStrategy, it’s in an entirely different league. As of November 14, the company held 279,420 bitcoin, with plans to buy even more.

Eyes are also watching Microsoft, which is set to vote on whether it will buy bitcoin for its treasury at its upcoming December 9 shareholder meeting.

Here are some of the other companies who are bullish on bitcoin:

Hut 8

The bitcoin-mining company announced on December 4 that it was launching a $250 million stock repurchase, intending to use the proceeds partly for “the purchase of bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.”

As of September 30, Hut 8 held 9,106 bitcoin in reserve.

Rumble

The video-sharing platform announced on November 25 that it would buy up to $20 million bitcoin.

“Unlike any government-issued currency, bitcoin is not subject to dilution through endless money-printing, enabling it to be a valuable inflation hedge and an excellent addition to our treasury,” Rumble chairman and CEO Chris Pavlovski said in the press release.

Thumzup

Social-media branding company Thumzup announced on November 15 that its board “had approved the purchase of up to $1 million in bitcoin.”

“As demand for Bitcoin increases and it gains recognition as a leading asset class, we believe it will serve as a robust reserve asset for our treasury,” Robert Steele, Thumzup CEO, said in a press release.

Acurx Pharmaceuticals

On November 20, the pharma company said its board approved “the purchase of up to $1 million in bitcoin to hold as a treasury reserve asset.”

“This new treasury strategy is a finance strategy and has no impact on our overarching drug development plans,” David P. Luci, Acurx president and CEO, said in the press release.

Genius Group

On November 12, the AI-powered educational company said it was adopting a “bitcoin-first” strategy with 90% of its reserves to be held in bitcoin.

Genius Group said it would use its $150 million at-the-market funding “to acquire an initial target of $120 million in bitcoin, to be held for the long term as its primary treasury reserve asset.”

On November 18, it bought its first $10 million of bitcoin. On November 21, it said it had increased its bitcoin purchases “for its bitcoin treasury by an additional $4 million to 153 bitcoin for $14 million, at an average price of $91,372 per bitcoin.”

Cosmos Health 

On November 18, pharma and health group Cosmos Health announced it was incorporating bitcoin and ethereum “as part of its treasury reserve assets” but did not disclose details on the amount of crypto they would add.

Further underscoring its trust in crypto assets, the company said it was “working to accommodate customers who wish to make payments in cryptocurrencies.”

Solidion Technology

Solidion, an advanced battery-materials provider, announced on November 14 that it would allocate “a significant portion of its excess cash reserves to bitcoin.

“This move, alongside the broader pro-bitcoin environment influenced by the recent election of a pro-crypto administration, solidifies the company’s long-term belief in bitcoin’s role as a store of value and a strategic asset,” the company said in a press release.

Solidion will allocate 60% of its excess cash to bitcoin and “convert interest earnings on cash held in money market accounts to Bitcoin.”

In addition, it said it set aside funds for future bitcoin purchases.

What about Tesla?

Tesla, while still high in the bitcoin-reserve rankings, has actually gone the other direction, selling a large chunk of its bitcoin reserves in 2022 at a loss and recently moving roughly $765 million in bitcoin to unknown wallets, according to Arkham Intelligence. Perhaps Musk needs the money to pour into his company town? 

Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy is a financial journalist who’s written for Dow Jones, The Financial Times Group, and Business Insider, among others.