Corporate Crypto Treasury: Why Public Companies Hold BTC/ETH
Educational content only — not investment advice.
Holding BTC or ETH on the balance sheet is its own treasury strategy. For investors, the headline “Company X bought Bitcoin” matters far less than why the company did it, how the position is funded, and what risks management is taking.
Why Companies Buy BTC: 4 Practical Motives
Treasury diversification instead of cash
Some firms treat BTC as an alternative to holding part of their excess cash: a bet on long-term purchasing power protection or asymmetric upside. It’s not a bank account replacement — it’s a volatile risk asset — which is why the size of the allocation is the whole story.
The “Bitcoin treasury company” model
For some companies, BTC is not a side position but the core narrative and a form of financial engineering. The best-known example is Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), which regularly discloses purchases and total BTC holdings.
Operational alignment with the business (crypto fintech, exchanges, payments)
If a company earns revenue from crypto infrastructure, keeping part of treasury in crypto can be a logical extension of its operating model (reserves, market-making collateral, settlement assets, etc.).
Marketing and positioning
Yes, signaling exists: a high-profile purchase can boost visibility. For investors, that’s often a risk flag if there’s no clear policy, no limits, and no transparent funding rationale behind the headline.
What Changed in 2025–2026?
Fair value accounting for crypto (FASB)
The FASB issued an update for certain crypto assets (ASU 2023-08) allowing fair value measurement with changes recognized in net income. It becomes mandatory for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted.
For investors, this can make financials for BTC/ETH holders less distorted compared to the earlier impairment-heavy model where losses were recognized more readily than gains.
Custody and regulatory nuance
In the U.S., the discussion around revising or rescinding SAB 121 has been seen as meaningful for banks and custody providers because it affects how costly crypto custody is from a balance sheet and compliance perspective.
How to Evaluate a Company’s Crypto Treasury
1) Materiality: crypto as a share of treasury
BTC/ETH is 1–2% of cash → one risk profile.
BTC/ETH becomes the dominant treasury asset → a different profile: the company starts trading like a proxy for crypto prices.
2) Funding source
Operating cash flow funding is typically the cleanest.
Debt / convertibles / dilution increases fragility — especially during drawdowns.
3) Risk-management policy
Look for explicit language on limits, objectives, volatility tolerance, approval procedures, and custody arrangements.
4) Liquidity and time horizon
The key question: can the company cover operating needs and obligations if crypto drops sharply? Treasury should not become a liquidity trap.
5) Accounting and disclosure quality
Check where the company discloses holdings, how often it updates figures, and whether it includes risk notes and “subsequent events” disclosures.
BTC Treasury Examples: What to Watch
Strategy (MicroStrategy)
Strategy provides frequent updates on purchases and total BTC held. For investors, the critical layer is not how many BTC, but the capital structure (debt, converts, issuance), because it can reshape the risk profile more than BTC itself.
Tesla
Tesla discloses digital assets in its filings (Form 10-K). It’s a good learning template: where figures appear, how risk language is written, and what policies the company states.
If you want a fast market map, there are public-company BTC treasury aggregators (including Europe-focused views). They’re a useful radar, but not a replacement for primary filings.
BTC vs ETH on the Balance Sheet: Why ETH Is Rarer
BTC is more commonly chosen as a treasury asset because the narrative is simpler (“digital gold” with a long institutional track record). ETH tends to appear more in operational contexts (infrastructure usage, fees, staking considerations), which can complicate policy and shareholder communication.
Conclusion
Corporate crypto treasury is ultimately a set of decisions about capital allocation, risk, and liquidity. The investor’s best move is to read the mechanics, not the headlines: how large the crypto position is, how it’s funded, how transparent disclosures are, and how credible the risk controls look.