Recently, an increasing number of companies have been using capital from the stock market to purchase cryptocurrencies, leading to a sharp rise in their stock prices and attracting the attention of speculators. The pioneer of this trend was MicroStrategy, which has become the largest corporate holder of bitcoins, owning over 597,000 BTC.
This is reported by Finway
A New Trend Among Companies and Market Risks
MicroStrategy’s experience has inspired a number of smaller companies to actively build their own bitcoin reserves. This phenomenon worries financial experts, who compare today’s excitement to the NFT boom and the ICO hysteria of previous years. The risks affect both investors and the stability of the entire financial market.
A striking example is the Spanish coffee chain Vanadi Coffee. After its stock value fell in 2024, the company doubled its market capitalization following an announcement of the purchase of 69 BTC. Despite the fact that Vanadi Coffee’s core business remains unprofitable, management announced an ambitious goal – to accumulate 10,000 BTC, similar to the Japanese company Metaplanet.
“According to the press release, the focus is on ‘asset diversification.’ However, most corporate treasurers consider cryptocurrency unsuitable for transactions and payments, the media noted.”
Speculative Nature and Possible Consequences
Analysts emphasize that the current trend resembles past speculative waves in the market, but the difference lies in the participation of public companies. This could lead to large-scale forced asset sales in the event of a sharp price drop. Experts cite examples: BitMine Immersion’s stock surged by 3000% after transitioning to Ethereum, and SharpLink Gaming purchased over 176,000 ETH for approximately $463 million. GameSquare also took similar action, creating a reserve of $100 million in Ethereum.
Proponents of this strategy view such actions as a manifestation of market self-regulation and a response to demand; however, large corporations, including Microsoft, refuse to include bitcoin on their balance sheets. Entrepreneur Anthony Scaramucci believes that the current trend of bitcoin reserves may disappear as suddenly as it emerged.
Experts warn that if weak or heavily indebted companies that have accumulated overvalued tokens begin to sell them en masse, it could trigger a collapse in the cryptocurrency market. The involvement of cryptocurrency companies in traditional finance through banking licenses only exacerbates systemic risks.
It is worth noting that, according to Glassnode analyst James Check, holding bitcoins in corporate reserves may quickly lose its relevance if market conditions change.