Public companies that use Bitcoin as a reserve asset have purchased 2.85% of the total supply

Publicly traded company Microstrategy Inc. has purchased $425 million of Bitcoin in the past two months, a decision that has become an important sign of institutional recognition of the top cryptocurrency as a mature, safe asset. The U.S. technology company has just made Bitcoin its primary reserve asset to hedge against fiat currency inflation. Now it seems that major companies around the world are following Microstrategy's asset allocation strategy.

The bitcointreasuries.org website collates the amount of bitcoin held by publicly listed companies from around the world. This article lists 13 companies that have purchased 598,237 BTC, or 2.85% of the total circulating supply of 21 million bitcoins.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust - 2.14%

Grayscale Capital is perhaps an unsurprising benchmark in this regard. Through the Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which owns and tracks the price of Bitcoin, the New York-based company currently holds 449,596 BTC, currently valued at $5.1 billion, or 2.14% of the digital asset’s total circulating supply. The trust, listed on the OTCQX market, snapped up 70% of all newly minted Bitcoin in circulation in 2020, nearly doubling its portfolio in the process.

Notably, Gbtc holds BTC on behalf of accredited, qualified investors who typically value privacy and Bitcoin’s store of value capabilities without being willing to gain direct exposure to the asset. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust “became one of the first publicly quoted securities fully invested in and deriving value from the price of Bitcoin” when it launched in 2013. The company operates ten crypto investment products targeting institutional investors. Funds include Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), zcash, XRP, and more.

Microstrategy Inc. - 0.18%

Grayscale may be the pioneer, but it’s Microstrategy that’s been grabbing all the headlines in recent weeks. The Nasdaq-listed company, which develops mobile software and provides cloud-based business intelligence services, bought $425 million worth of Bitcoin in August and September, making BTC Microstrategy’s largest reserve asset.

The multi-billion dollar US company now owns 38,250 BTC, a move that signals the rise of mainstream corporate adoption of Bitcoin. The portfolio is worth more than $433 million at current exchange rates, an increase of $8 million, and comes as increased stimulus fiscal relief has left fiat currencies struggling around the world. Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor is particularly optimistic.

“This investment reflects our belief that Bitcoin, the world’s most widely adopted cryptocurrency, is a reliable store of value and an attractive investment asset with greater long-term appreciation potential than holding cash,” he said.

Square Inc. - 0.022%

Corporate interest in Bitcoin may not be a trend yet, but the news that Jack Dorsey’s Square Inc. moved 1% of its total assets into Bitcoin suggests that it may be increasing. On October 8, the New York Stock Exchange-listed mobile payments company announced that it spent $50 million to buy 4,709 Bitcoins. Square CFO Amrita Ahuja said that “Bitcoin has the potential to become a more common currency in the future.”

As such, the company hopes that "as (Bitcoin) adoption grows, we intend to learn and participate in a serious way. This investment is the first step for a company that builds products based on a broader future." Bitcoin has reacted positively to Square's news, surging 8% in the past 72 hours, from $10,500 to over $11,300. Square, which has a market value of more than $83 billion, provides software and hardware payment solutions. In 2019, the company reported revenue of $4.7 billion. It has offices in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Coinshares - 0.33%

Coinshares Ltd is a UK-based investment fund that focuses primarily on direct and indirect exposure to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The company manages over $1 billion in digital assets, of which Bitcoin accounts for nearly 80%. According to bitcointreasuries.org, Coinshares currently holds a total of 69,730 BTC on behalf of investors, valued at $790 million.

Through its subsidiary XBT Provider, Coinshares offers two globally traded Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded notes (ETNs), Bitcoin Tracker One and BTC Tracker Euro, and Ethereum Ether Tracker One and ETH Tracker Euro. The products are available to Nasdaq Nordic and retail investors in Stockholm, Sweden, but ran into regulatory issues when the UK financial regulator recently banned the sale of ETNs to retail investors in the country.

Buy or hold other companies and institutions

There are several other public companies listed on the bitcointreasuries.org website. These include Hut 8 Mining, a bitcoin miner traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), and Argo Blockchain on the London Stock Exchange . Both companies hold bitcoin as part of their reserve assets. By the end of June, hut8 had purchased 2,954 BTC, while Argo Blockchain owned 126 BTC by the end of September. Another mining entity, Riot Blockchain, Inc, had 1,053 bitcoins in its asset reserves in June.

Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital Holdings, a TSX-listed company that “seeks to institutionalize the digital asset and blockchain space,” holds 16,651 bitcoins, worth about $188 million at current market prices. The company provides asset management, investment, advisory and trading services, as well as principal investments. Voyager Digital Ltd, Cypherpunk Holdings and DigitalX are also included in the list of public companies that hold bitcoin to hedge against fiat inflation.