BTC on the balance sheet: Bitcoin treasury strategies explained
Nov 4, 2025・6 min read
To some, Strategy Inc. CEO Michael Saylor looked absurd when he first announced buying Bitcoin (BTC) for his company’s reserves in 2020. Although Bitcoin was over $10,000 per coin, investing $250 million seemed too aggressive for many crypto critics. A few years later, it's hard to find many skeptics of Saylor's decision.
Many companies are now experiencing a bad case of “fear of missing out” (FOMO). Throughout 2024 and 2025, institutions bought hundreds of thousands of BTC, surpassing the number of new coins entering the circulating supply seven times over.
As crypto treasuries become more common, CFOs are reevaluating their opinions on digital asset allocation. But just because establishing a Bitcoin treasury is trendy doesn't mean companies have found an infinite money machine. Businesses need a balanced view of the blockchain's benefits and risks, and how it fits into their broader diversification strategy. We’ll explore those factors in this guide, with a few examples of who’s adopting Bitcoin treasuries and why.
What’s a Bitcoin treasury strategy?
A Bitcoin treasury is similar to a long-term investment strategy (aka HODLing) for corporations rather than individuals. To create a Bitcoin treasury, a company allocates part of its holdings to BTC and accounts for this cryptocurrency as part of its corporate reserves or balance sheet assets. Typically, companies accumulate their Bitcoin with repeated buy orders and hold this digital asset in a secure cold storage facility in hopes of increased value over time.
The idea of Bitcoin treasuries for public companies went mainstream in 2020 when Michael Saylor placed his first $250 million BTC buy order for Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy). Since that initial investment, Saylor’s authorized dozens of additional BTC purchases, making Strategy the largest publicly traded Bitcoin holder. At the time of writing, Strategy has over 640,000 BTC in its possession – 3% of Bitcoin's total supply.
Although no institution matches Strategy's Bitcoin stockpile, more companies have begun copying Saylor's tactic by transferring some of their fiat currency into this digital gold.
Why are companies adopting Bitcoin treasury strategies?
Every company has unique reasons for investing in Bitcoin, but macroeconomic pressures like inflation and currency debasement are common explanations. Unlike fiat currencies (such as the United States dollar), Bitcoin has a fixed supply of 21 million coins and a preset inflation rate that steadily reduces until it hits 0% by 2140. Despite Bitcoin's novelty and lack of a centralized issuer, companies are finding its scarcity appealing, particularly as cryptocurrency adoption becomes more mainstream.
Bitcoin has already proven its sustainability and growth prospects in its long-term price history, making it increasingly less risky (even if there will always be some risk involved). Some governments and lawmakers view BTC as a digital version of gold. If Bitcoin continues on the path of broad acceptance as a viable store of value, its continued growth prospects mean it could potentially rival traditional assets like the S&P 500 index.
Another attractive feature of Bitcoin to businesses is its global liquidity. As more exchanges offer Bitcoin trading services, it's becoming easier for companies to find secure platforms to buy or dispose of their BTC holdings whenever they need to transition in or out of cash. The introduction of Bitcoin derivatives and products like exchange-traded funds (ETFs) gives companies even more options for Bitcoin price exposure without dealing with the complexities of storing BTC itself.
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What are the risks associated with a Bitcoin treasury?
Looking at the long-term chart of Bitcoin's price, it may seem ridiculous not to put some of a company’s holdings into BTC. No other asset in the 21st century has gone from less than a penny to over $100,000 in 15 years. But that doesn't mean creating a Bitcoin treasury is a good move in every scenario. Implementing a Bitcoin strategy has unique challenges, and company leaders need to seriously account for risks before stacking sats.
Volatility
Even with Bitcoin's impressive long-term performance, its price tends to have more extreme fluctuations than traditional assets. For example, Bitcoin is generally four times more volatile than the S&P 500 over long periods of time. Not only does this add unpredictability to a company's treasury management, but it also creates challenges for proper accounting and reporting.
Operational risks
Bitcoin’s decentralized nature means it doesn't come with any insurance protections in cases of loss, hacks, or mishandling. So, if companies decide to buy and hold literal BTC rather than a derivative, they need an advanced security infrastructure and expertise to protect their digital assets from data breaches. Companies have to consider whether the extra expense of training employees and enhancing cybersecurity standards is worth the potential gain from a Bitcoin treasury.
Regulatory challenges
The laws surrounding crypto assets like Bitcoin aren't set in stone. Although states, countries, and international organizations are setting policies about digital assets, there's always a chance these laws could change unexpectedly and trigger tax or legal implications. Until there's a clear set of rules and definitions surrounding Bitcoin across multiple jurisdictions, companies have to be extra nimble in how they account for their Bitcoin holdings to stay compliant.
Which companies are adopting Bitcoin treasury strategies?
As the first and most aggressive company to adopt a Bitcoin strategy, Strategy blows away the competition with its massive Bitcoin treasury. Other prominent public businesses across multiple industries also have sizable BTC holdings in the budding Bitcoin treasury landscape:
- Block (formerly Square): Shortly after Michael Saylor debuted his Bitcoin treasury, the financial services company Block announced its first BTC purchase for $50 million. Headed by Bitcoin enthusiast and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Block also supports the crypto ecosystem with BTC integrations to services like Cash App and investments in Bitcoin mining technology through its Proto division.
- Tesla: Tesla is one of the biggest Big Tech businesses, which also makes it one of the largest public companies to dip its toes into digital assets. In 2021, the electric vehicle manufacturer announced buying $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin to diversify its holdings, and it briefly accepted BTC payments for its products. Although Tesla has sold some of its Bitcoin holdings over the years, it still has roughly 11,500 BTC at the time of writing.
- MARA Holdings: Despite starting as a patent holdings company, MARA now manages one of the world's largest Bitcoin mining operations and has become a major investor in BTC. With 52,850 BTC at the time of writing, MARA Holdings' Bitcoin treasury is the second-largest in the world, for a public company.
- Coinbase: As the leading American-based centralized exchange (CEX) for cryptocurrencies, Coinbase already has a stake in Bitcoin's future. But CEO Brian Armstrong isn't just content with offering millions of customers convenient crypto trading services – this CEX also has thousands of BTC in reserves. Because Coinbase is a publicly traded company, it releases quarterly earnings reports showing the latest updates to these BTC holdings.
- Bullish: Similar to Coinbase, Bullish is a multinational CEX and a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ. To highlight its belief in and commitment to blockchain, the Bullish team also keeps thousands of BTC in its reserve for diversification and potential long-term growth.
- Metaplanet: The Japanese company Metaplanet dealt with the hotel and real estate markets and had nothing to do with tech or blockchains prior to 2024. However, Metaplanet's leaders decided to rebrand themselves as primarily a Bitcoin treasury company, and they continue to accumulate thousands of BTC each year.
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Disclaimer: This post is informational only and is not intended as tax advice. For tax advice, please consult a tax professional.
FAQ
What’s a Bitcoin treasury?
When a company has a Bitcoin treasury, they’re putting a portion of their reserves into Bitcoin and holding this digital asset with the expectation of long-term financial growth. Public companies are using a Bitcoin treasury strategy more often to diversify away from fiat and take advantage of Bitcoin's desirable traits, like decentralization, growing adoption, and scarcity.
Does the U.S. Treasury own Bitcoin?
As of 2025, the U.S. Treasury holds a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve with BTC seized from criminal activities. Under the current policy, the U.S. Treasury doesn't buy digital assets, but it has over 198,000 BTC, making it the second-largest Bitcoin treasury for a public entity.
How many companies have a Bitcoin treasury?
The number of public companies with Bitcoin is constantly changing, but current reports show that at least 100 corporations have some BTC in store. You can turn to free online Bitcoin treasury trackers to see who's currently holding a crypto reserve.