Disclaimer: The analyst who wrote this article owns shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Semler Scientific (SMLR).
As interest in digital assets continues to rise, a new phase of corporate bitcoin (BTC) adoption appears to be taking shape, with publicly traded companies following MicroStrategy’s lead by adding BTC to their balance sheets.
It all started when MicroStrategy (MSTR) adopted BTC as a Treasury asset in 2020. Since then, its share price has risen almost 2,500%. Over the years, the company has increased its coin reserve through cash, ATM stock offerings, convertible debt, or more recently, they said they would also use preferred stock offerings.
In 2024, we saw several companies follow suit and adopt a bitcoin treasury strategy, such as Metaplanet (3350), Semler Scientific (SMLR), MARA Holdings (MARA), as well as many other publicly traded miners that have also achieved a great success.
Now more companies are joining the party.
The first company to emerge from the second wave is KULR Technology Group (KULR), which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and announced a $21 million bitcoin purchase on Monday. This brings your total bitcoin holdings to 430 BTC at a weighted average price of $98,393 per token.
KULR has leveraged a combination of an ATM capital program and surplus cash to finance its purchase. Like the other pioneers of this strategy, they adopted a BTC return strategy, reaching 93.7% from December 2024 to January 2025. KULR share price is up 847% since November 19 .
As of January 7, there also appears to be a surge of publicly traded companies that have announced a bitcoin treasury strategy but have not yet acquired bitcoins.
First, Nasdaq-listed Acurx Pharmaceuticals (ACXP), whose board approved a purchase of up to $1 million in bitcoin on November 20. The stock price is down 35% since Nov. 19, but up 30%. Year to date.
The same goes for Hoth Therapeutics (HOTH), also on the Nasdaq. Its board of directors approved a $1 million bitcoin purchase on Nov. 20, but there has been no acquisition yet. However, the share price is up 2% since November 19.
The third company to have approved a $1 million bitcoin treasury strategy is Nasdaq-listed LQR House (YHC). On November 19, the company announced that it also accepted cryptocurrency payments and adopted a policy to retain up to $10 million of these payments in bitcoin. The share price is up 56% since November 19.
SOS Limited (SOS), listed on the New York Stock Exchange, approved a $50 million bitcoin purchase on November 27. The announcement was made when bitcoin was costing $93,000 per token. The share price is down 30% since November 19.
The last company, also on the Nasdaq, Enlivex Therapeutics (ENLV), announced on November 20 that it had been approved to purchase $1 million in bitcoin for its treasury strategy. The share price is up 18% since November 19.
In the second wave, KULR experienced massive share price appreciation compared to other companies, which may be due to the purchase of bitcoins along with the announcement of the strategy.
UPDATE (January 7, 16:33 UTC): Updates: adds Enlivex Therapeutics and comments on adopting a bitcoin treasury strategy.
