Bitcoin as a treasury asset for your company: does it make sense?

Although Bitcoin was initially designed as a medium of exchange, the digital asset has now assumed other roles in the global financial system. One of these roles, although still relatively nascent, is serving as a treasury asset. According to Bitcoin Treasuries, 80 publicly listed companies held 632,381 btc on their balance sheets as of 25th of february 2025, worth $55.89 billion. A further 20 private companies held 424,126 btc, valued at $37.49 billion. Another estimate published in September 2024 by River Financial reported that, as of August 2024, businesses held at least 3.3% of all Bitcoin in circulation.

This article explains the risks of holding bitcoin and the potential returns before exploring different approaches for adding it to a corporate treasury.

Bitcoin: already an asset for public companies

Business analytics firm Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has the largest holding by some distance, totalling 478,740 btc (worth $42.22 billion as of 25th of february 2025). Founded in 1989 by crypto champion Michael Saylor and his business partner Sanju Bansal, Strategy was one of the first companies outside the crypto sector to add bitcoin to its balance sheet in 2020. Given the size of the company’s holding, many investors view its shares as a bitcoin proxy.

The next biggest holder is MARA Holdings, a ‘miner’ which competes to validate transactions in bitcoin’s ‘proof of work’ consensus mechanism by solving complex mathematical problems. In September 2024, Bitcoin Magazine ranked Mara as the largest miner by hash rate, the computer power expended to validate transactions. As of 25th of february 2025, the company held 45,659 btc worth $4.02 billion.

Tesla, run by billionaire Elon Musk, is one of the most well-known bitcoin holders (11,509 btc worth $1,013 million as of 25th of february 2025). However, the electric vehicle manufacturer has a complicated history with bitcoin. Having originally purchased around 40,000 btc in 2021 (costing $1.5 billion at the time), and allowing customers to purchase cars in bitcoin, it sold 75% during the bear market in 2022. Then in October 2024, Tesla moved its remaining bitcoin to several unknown wallets. At the time of writing, the company hadn’t confirmed its plans for the holding, although its Q4 2024 report referred to a $600 million mark-to-market gain on “digital assets.”

Different approaches to adding bitcoin to a balance sheet

Strategy tends to turn to the financial markets to fund its bitcoin purchases. It has raised over $7 billion by selling convertible bonds (instruments that can be converted to a fixed number of the company’s shares), with the most recent sale taking place in November 2024. Strategy also sold shares at the start of 2025 and used the proceeds to buy more than 2,500 btc (worth $243 million), and it announced plans to sell up to $2 billion of preferred shares (which pay a higher dividend than common shares) to fund further purchases. This approach is high-risk, high-return. Crypto news platform Cointelegraph reported in December 2024 that Strategy had generated a profit of $17 billion on its holdings, but bitcoin’s volatility could affect the company’s ability to repay its debts.

Block, a publicly-listed company launched by X (formerly Twitter) founder Jack Dorsey, has adopted a different approach. The fintech, which held 8,363 btc as of 25th of february 2025 worth $737.6 million, announced in May 2024 that it will invest 10% of the profits it earns from its crypto products into bitcoin. In his quarterly letter to shareholders, Dorsey explained that the company believes ‘the world needs an open protocol for money, one that’s not owned or controlled by any single entity’.

Another option is to buy exchange-traded products (ETPs), which track the price of bitcoin (investment products hold 1,336,085 btc as of 25th of february 2025). Crypto ETPs have been trading in Europe for over 10 years, and 250 products are currently listed across the region. In the US, the Security and Exchange Commission approved 11 bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at the start of 2024.

ETPs and ETFs trade on mainstream exchanges like shares, so they’re easier to account for than bitcoin purchased directly. Most jurisdictions have clear rules about taxing investment products, whereas crypto regulations are still evolving. A further advantage is the provider takes responsibility for the custody of the underlying bitcoin, which means SMEs don’t have to worry about setting up, managing and, crucially, securing a digital wallet. 

What about SMEs? 

It is important to mention that it isn’t just blue chips holding bitcoin. Research by Hartford Steam Boiler, a subsidiary of global insurance company Munich Re, shows that over 20% of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the US purchase it for their own use, and more than a third accept it as a form of payment. Crypto exchanges spotted this trend as early as 2021. 

The potential for returns and hedging against inflation aren’t the only benefits that bitcoin offers SMEs. It can also help overcome many of the challenges posed by the traditional financial system, especially for companies based in developing countries.  

Applying for credit can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, not to mention prohibitive in terms of the collateral required by a bank. Decentralised finance apps, built on blockchain technology and leveraging smart contracts, provide access to alternative sources of funding that cut out intermediaries like banks. SMEs can also use bitcoin holdings as collateral against loans.

Another challenge facing SMEs is the cost of sending money across borders, which the World Bank estimates at roughly 6.3% of a transaction’s value. Bitcoin facilitates international trade because fees are much lower, averaging just over $1 as of February 2025. Furthermore, bitcoin transactions typically complete in a matter of minutes compared to up to five days when an SME transfers money through a financial institution   

Bitcoin could also offset certain long-term fiat currency fluctuations, which can be particularly valuable for companies exposed to foreign markets or those based in countries experiencing high inflation, like Argentina. In the last 10 years, the peso lost 99% of its value against the US dollar, while bitcoin appreciated by nearly 17,000%.  

Risk and return

One of the primary risks facing SMEs is bitcoin’s volatility. Its price can fluctuate dramatically based on various catalysts, such as investor sentiment, financial regulations and the evolution of the underlying technology. While volatility has eased as Bitcoin has matured, the 60-day Bitcoin volatility index stood at 1.58% (as of February 25, 2025), down from 7.05% in April 2020, it’s significantly higher than the average of gold (1.2%) and most fiat currencies (typically 0.5% to 1%).

Custody is another important consideration. Purchasing Bitcoin directly through a crypto exchange, which may be unregulated or underregulated, requires an SME to hold it in a digital wallet. These wallets can either be hot—linked to the internet and therefore at greater risk of cybercrime—or cold, which involves transferring the Bitcoin to a physical device that must be securely stored. Exchanges can also hold crypto on behalf of users, but the collapse of FTX in November 2022 highlighted the counterparty risk associated with this option. In this context, ETFs and ETPs offer an alternative for risk-averse entities.

In terms of reward, bitcoin offers the potential to generate future returns, and it can diversify a treasury. Holding cash comes with an opportunity cost. For instance, soaring inflation triggered by economic stimulus measures implemented during the Covid pandemic eroded the value of cash sitting in corporate treasuries. But Satoshi designed bitcoin to be anti-inflationary by capping the total supply at 21 million. CoinShares estimates its correlation- the degree to which it moves in the same direction as other assets- with common treasury holdings, like government bonds, is relatively low.

Incidentally, CoinShares  is making investors aware of the fact that allocating up to 4% of their portfolio to bitcoin, and rebalancing this exposure quarterly, has in the past made it possible to take advantage of potential gains while limiting the impact of volatility. A similar rule of thumb could apply to SMEs.

Conclusion

Satoshi Nakamoto designed bitcoin as a medium of exchange, but it has experienced adoption as a treasury asset. A broad range of crypto and non-crypto companies hold bitcoin, most famously business analytics firm Strategy but also publicly-listed miners like Marathon Digital, and consumer companies such as Tesla.

SMEs need to be aware of the risks associated with holding bitcoin, primarily its volatility compared with other asset classes. Custody is a further consideration given the complexity of storing a digital asset. However, bitcoin offers the potential to generate a return and a valuable source of treasury diversification.  

Companies pursue different strategies when adding bitcoin to their balance sheet, including raising funds in the financial markets and allocating a percentage of profits to purchases. Alternatively, ETFs offer a regulated way to gain exposure that avoids the challenges of custody.