Corporate Bitcoin treasury adoption has hit a huge milestone, reaching 1 million Bitcoin as more companies tout Bitcoin’s potential to bolster their balance sheets.
BitcoinTreasuries.NET confirmed the feat on Thursday, with a few additional purchases pushing the tally to 1,000,698 Bitcoin, worth over $111 billion.
While Bitcoin miners like MARA Holdings were the OG Bitcoin accumulators, Michael Saylor’s Strategy was the first public company to adopt a Bitcoin (BTC) strategy in August 2020 — paving the way for many of the 184 listed companies that hold Bitcoin today.
Saylor’s company holds by far the most Bitcoin at 636,505 BTC, while MARA Holdings has held steady in second position with 52,477 BTC after mining 705 BTC in August.
However, a few new Bitcoin treasury companies are closing in, including Jack Mallers-led XXI and Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company, which now hold 43,514 BTC and 30,021 BTC, respectively.
Crypto exchange Bullish and Japanese investment firm Metaplanet hold 24,000 BTC and 20,000 BTC, while Riot Platforms, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp, CleanSpark and Coinbase round out the top 10.
The rapid Bitcoin buying from public companies and exchange-traded funds have created a demand shock this cycle, and many see it as a primary catalyst behind Bitcoin’s price rally to a new all-time high of $124,450 last month.
More publicly listed companies are announcing Bitcoin accumulation strategies by the week, too. With just 5.2% of Bitcoin’s fixed supply yet to enter circulation, a supply-side shock could be spurred on by further adoption in the years to come.
For example, Metaplanet and Semler Scientific are aiming to accumulate 210,000 BTC and 105,000 BTC by the end of 2027, which is more than 10 and 20 times their current stash.
Bitcoin treasury strategies copped criticism in the bear market
Strategy was one of the few Bitcoin accumulating companies that held strong on its conviction in the 2022 bear market, which saw Bitcoin miners offload 58,770 BTC — up from 3,500 the year before — while FTX’s collapse pushed Bitcoin down to a 2022 low of $15,740.
Saylor even said he was willing to ride Bitcoin out to $0 amid a wave of criticism from the likes of Fortune, which shed doubt on the sustainability of his company’s “wild experiment.”
However, seeing Strategy coming out on the other side likely inspired a second wave of Bitcoin adoption, including from Metaplanet and Semler Scientific, whose CEOs said they were zombie companies before taking the leap into Bitcoin.
Wall Street tools enable corporate Bitcoin adoption
Like Strategy, many of these companies have adopted a range of financial instruments, such as equity offerings and debt financing (through senior convertible notes), to increase their Bitcoin holdings and create shareholder value on a Bitcoin-per-share basis.
XXI and the Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company are among the entities that launched as Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, or SPACs, to build Bitcoin treasuries and offer investors a faster, more flexible route for Bitcoin exposure than through initial public offerings.
Corporate Bitcoin adoption is happening around the world, too. While 64 companies are based in the US, 34 are in Canada, 11 are in the UK and Hong Kong, and others have appeared in countries such as Mexico, South Africa, and Bahrain.
Public companies aren’t even the largest Bitcoin-holding entities
Crypto exchanges and exchange-traded fund issuers are the only entities that hold more Bitcoin than public companies at 1.62 million BTC, while governments and private companies hold 526,363 BTC and 295,015 BTC.
Another 242,866 BTC is locked in crypto protocols, leaving the remaining 16.2 million of BTC in the hands of individuals — or at least those who still have access to their private keys.