How Michael Saylorโs 2020 Bitcoin Bet Sparked a Corporate Treasury Revolution
In 2020, Michael Saylor (MicroStrategy) transformed his companyโs idle cash into Bitcoinโbuying 21,000 BTC (~$250M at the time) and calling it the โapex assetโ against inflation.
That bold move gave rise to the โdigital-asset treasuryโ strategy, where companies hold crypto as a long-term reserve instead of just cash or low-yield bonds.
The strategy gained serious momentum after the approval of spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in 2024, which opened up institutional access to crypto.
More companies followed:
Semler Scientific (a healthcare firm) bought BTC using this playbook.
Trident Digital added XRP in mid-2025, showing that altcoins are also becoming part of treasury strategies.
But not all treasuries are equal. Some micro-cap companies made token purchases just for PR, not as a sustainable business strategy.
Some firms have even unwound parts of their crypto reserves:
ETHZilla sold about $40M of ETH to buy back its own stock.
MicroStrategy remains the leader: it now holds over 641,000 BTC, which is about 3% of Bitcoinโs total supply.
Whether this becomes a standard corporate finance strategy โ or is just a speculative trend โ is still not settled.
Corporate Legitimacy for Crypto: Public companies treating crypto as a reserve asset adds legitimacy and long-term institutional demand.
Volatility Risk: Crypto treasuries are exposed to dramatic price swings โ not every company will survive a crypto bear market.
Capital Allocation Shift: Instead of traditional holdings (cash, bonds), firms are redeploying capital to digital assets.
Long-Term Yield Potential: Some โcrypto treasuryโ companies may not just hold โ they might stake, validate, or otherwise put assets to work.
Supply Impact: More BTC locked in corporate treasuries could tighten circulating supply โ potentially supporting upward price pressure.
#CryptoTreasuries #BitcoinCorporates #MicroStrategy #StrategyBTCPurchase #DigitalAssets