In March, numerous corporate treasuries, from regions including Virginia, Texas, California, and even Japan, diversified their financial strategies by integrating Bitcoin into their portfolios. This move is gradually becoming a trend, with noticeable effects on the price of Bitcoin.
The month of March saw a resurgence of positive inflows into Bitcoin ETFs on Wall Street. These ETFs provide regulated investors a secure way to invest in on-chain BTC. However, the competition for Bitcoin isn’t solely between public financial conglomerates regulated by the SEC and the US government. Non-financial publicly traded corporations have also started incorporating Bitcoin into their long-term financial strategies to optimize their balance sheets.
Here are four notable examples that potentially mark the beginning of a corporate race for Bitcoin, indicating that the current price levels may significantly undervalue this scarce digital asset.
1. Strategy Adds 6,911 More Bitcoin to Its Holdings
Virginia-based Bitcoin holding company, Strategy, purchased 6,911 additional BTC for $584 million between March 17th and 23rd. This takes Strategy’s total BTC holdings to 506,137, according to data from Bitcoin Treasuries. In the last quarter of the previous year, Strategy acquired a total of 218,887 bitcoins for $20.5 billion, and in January, it purchased another 10,107 BTC for around $1.1 billion.
2. GameStop Bolsters Balance Sheet with Bitcoin
GameStop, a Texas-based retail video game chain, announced in March that it plans to add BTC to its balance sheets. Following unanimous approval from its board of directors, GameStop’s stock surged by 11.7%, although it later dropped by over 20%. The company has filed to raise $1.3 billion in stock-convertible corporate loans to purchase Bitcoin.
3. MetaPlanet Purchases $12.6M in Bitcoin
MetaPlanet, a Japanese hotel chain, strengthened its corporate finances by purchasing 150 BTC for roughly $12.6 million in March. This increased MetaPlanet’s total holdings to 3,350 BTC, valued at over $172 million in March.
4. KULR Technology Buys $5 million More Bitcoin
KULR Technology Group, a lithium-ion battery and electronics company based in San Diego, California, bolstered its Bitcoin treasury in March by adding 58.3 BTC worth around $5.3 million. This takes KULR’s total BTC holdings to 668.
5. Accounting Update Facilitates Corporate Bitcoin Holdings
The trend of corporate accumulation of Bitcoin has been further encouraged by an update to the Financial Accounting Services Board (FASB) rules in December 2023, which officially implemented fair value accounting procedures for corporate Bitcoin holdings.
