The world has already witnessed the power of Bitcoin. It is the first digital currency that has become one of the most valuable assets in the world. Moreover, it has paved the way for a whole new decentralized financial ecosystem. Though it had a humble beginning back in 2009, today, it’s the most coveted investment.
The very recent price surge of Bitcoin has again brought it into the headlines. Bitcoin’s price has touched the mark of $100,000. It had already gained the attention of institutional and retail investors a few years after its initial surges. Like many other valuable assets, Bitcoin has also become an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) now. Right now, everyone wants to get a piece of this virtual asset.
In simple words, Bitcoin corporate holders are companies that hold Bitcoin as part of their corporate treasury or investment strategy. These companies buy and hold the bitcoin for several reasons such as diversifying their assets, hedging against inflation, or capitalizing on the potential appreciation of Bitcoin value.
Moreover, some governments have also staked a large number of Bitcoins. But in this article, we are going to focus on corporate holders exclusively. And before diving into the details, let’s learn a little about these institutional players.
Significance of Corporate Bitcoin Holders
As mentioned above, corporate ownership of Bitcoin boosts confidence in small investors too. When Bitcoin ETF started last year, it became a big boost for everyone. It indicated that the government is ready to formally induct cryptocurrency in the mainstream economy. It may take some time to get as common as equity or gold, but it’s still a big start.
The corporate involvement suggests that the big corporations are ready to take risks with a certain asset. It also boosts the price of that asset for some time and boosts the sales. Furthermore, big corporations can also influence governments. They encourage lawmakers to work on new regulations that securely support innovation. In fact, the Bitcoin ETF was considered a big approval for digital assets by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
However, a keen investor must what companies get out of Bitcoin investment. Cryptocurrency is decentralized and it comes with quite a few perks. When organizations invest in it, they tap into many of its advantages.
- Crypto allows organizations to reach new demographic groups seeking a better financial structure. With lower transaction fees and safer transactions, it’s certainly a choice for many professionals and businesses.
- Introduction to crypto can open a company doorway to blockchain technology. The core technology gives so many possibilities beyond finance. It may even give them some exposure to Central Bank Digital Currencies. (CBDCs).
- The awareness of crypto and blockchain can bring new liquidity options into play. It makes enterprises familiar with the concept of tokenization. It enables them to try new investments like NFT.
- Crypto introduces businesses to some new concepts that aren’t available with fiat yet. For instance, real-time revenue sharing can only be done with programmable money.
- Many corporate entities are willing to engage with their client using crypto. So adapting the digital asset may be very useful in coming across as a tech-savvy company.
- Being an investable asset, crypto is a better option than fiat on many fronts. It will be useful in balancing assets to cash, especially at the time of inflation.
After understanding the basics, now let’s learn about the leading corporate holders of Bitcoin.
Largest Corporate Holders of Bitcoin
MicroStrategy
Total Bitcoin- 386,700
Estimated Value- $31.6 billion
MicroStrategy Incorporated made its first investment in Bitcoin in the year 2020. Since then, it continued the streak and has become a leading holder today. Its core operations deal with cloud-based solutions, business intelligence, and mobile software. It is renowned for providing sound business data analysis. Using vivid data visualizations and advanced analytics, it has helped many companies grow.
The company was founded in November 1989 by three MIT graduates- Michael Saylor, Sanju Bansal, and Thomas Spahr. Within a decade of its establishment, MicroStrategy went public on June 11, 1998.
Marathon Digital
Total Bitcoin- 40,435
Estimated Value- $2.5 billion
Marathon Digital is a Bitcoin mining company founded in 2010. The company has an installed hash rate of 30.6 EH/S. It has managed to hold a significant number of assets despite selling 1700 BTC in 2023. As per the report they did it to meet operational requirements. The company holds all the bitcoin it mines. It sells only for the purpose of enhancing its operations.
Marathon is also enlisted in NASDAQ as a public company. The corporate insiders own 3% of its stock and institutional investors have 30% of it. Fred Thiel has been the chairman and CEO of Marathon Digital since 2021. So far, the company hasn’t disclosed any plans to invest in other cryptocurrencies.
Riot Platforms
Total Bitcoin- 16,728
Estimated Value- $957 million
Riots Platforms is another Bitcoin miner grown as a large holder. Originally, the company was founded as Bioptix Inc. In 2000, it was rechristened as Riot Blockchain. At present, it’s running at a hash capacity of 14.7 EH/S. However, it aims to raise it to 41 EH/S by the end of 2025. Notably, its mining isn’t the only factor behind Riots’ Bitcoin holding.
In June 2023, it bought 33,280 BTC miners from MircoBT. Riots use its extensive mining operations to maintain its holding. Currently, Riot Platforms owns the biggest Bitcoin mining facility in North America. Jason Les, a well-known crypto enthusiast helms the operations as the CEO. The company aims to develop a cutting-edge Bitcoin infrastructure for the world.
Tesla
Total Bitcoin- 9720
Estimated Value- $929 million
Tesla became the investor in Bitcoin for the first time in 2021 with a count of 47,902 assets. But in 2022, it sold 75% of its holdings without revealing any reason. The news made an impact on the market and caused the BTC to fall by 1.7%. For a brief duration, Tesla even started accepting Bitcoins for its cars. However, it soon removed that option citing environmental concerns.
The company does have plans to re-induct BTC as a payment option. But it’s not clear when they’ll do it. Besides Bitcoin, Tesla hasn’t made investments in any other cryptocurrency. Also, it’s not clear Elon Musk personally owns any of these Bitcoins.
Hut 8 Mining
Total Bitcoin- 10096.0
Estimated Value- $870 million
With 148 self-mined BTCs, Hut 8 is one of the largest Bitcoin miners. The company is enlisted in NASDAQ as well Toronto Stock Exchange. Based in Toronto, Canada, it recently made announcements about discontinuing its mining operations in Texas and Nebraska. The company intends to hold its assets for as long as possible. They will sell it only for retrofitting and debt management.
Hut 8 also mines Ethereum, but it doesn’t hold them for long. It converts them into BTC while using nuclear and hydropower for mining.
Coinbase Global
Total Bitcoin- 9000
Estimated Value- $860 million
Coinbase is one of the leading crypto exchanges that holds Bitcoin as an investment. The platform also holds a large number of BTC for its customers as a depositor. It has not revealed the average purchase price of the Bitcoin it holds. Besides BTC, the company also holds 90,000 Ethereum as an investment. Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong along with co-founder Fred Ehrsam has 16% and 4.5% ownership of the company respectively.
The retail investors and venture capital funds own the rest of it.
CleanSpark
Total Bitcoin- 8701
Estimated Value- $831 million
ClearnSpark is another American Bitcoin miner known for its infrastructure. It aims to make mining greener and more inclusive. Currently, the company maintains a hash rate of 39.1 EH/S. It is a public company listed on the Nasdaq with the aim to reach other exchanges. As per the reports, it operates several mining sites across the United States. Also, the company claims to mine at very competitive energy prices.
Its CEO and president Zachary Bradford Gas has been involved in the blockchain sphere for quite some time. The company intends to multiply its operations along with Bitcoin holdings.
Block
Total Bitcoin- 8211
Estimated Value- $784 million
Block provides fintech solutions to businesses and is headed by the former CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey. Its current ownership of Bitcoin accounts for 0.038% of the total supply of 21 million. The NYSE-listed company is currently focusing only on Bitcoin. It has two subsidiaries which are Square and Spiral. The former provides credit card-related services while the latter facilitates the integration of Bitcoin in the mainstream through open-source projects.
Recently, Block Inc’s CashApp minted profits of $41 in Bitcoin. The company hasn’t disclosed any plans to invest in any other cryptos in the future so far.
Galaxy Digital
Total Bitcoin- 8100
Estimated Value- $774 million
Founded in 2018, Galaxy Digital Holdings specializes in digital assets management. It works extensively on blockchain technology to support the decentralized infrastructure. The company CEO and founder Michael Novogratz associated with Bitcoin at its early phase. He bought his first BTC in 2013 for just $100 and remained involved in this cryptocurrency revolution.
After maintaining modern operations for 4 years, the company took a big step in 2022. It acquired Helios, for around $65 million to boost its BTC mining operations. This mining facility broughta 160-acre facility with an operational capacity of 180 MW. Galaxy is enlisted as a public company on OTCMKTS with the ownership of 25% of stock by institutional investors.
Bitcoin Group SE
Total Bitcoin- 3830
Estimated Value- $366 million
Bitcoin Group SE is a private equity and consulting company providing fintech services worldwide. It operates a trading platform that supports crypto and blockchain-based businesses. The company was founded in 2008 when Bitcoin was introduced. Currently, it focuses on the acquisition, sales, and management of decentralized enterprises across the globe.
Based in Germany, the company is listed on the German stock exchange.
“Also Read Why Bitcoin Continues to Dominate the Cryptocurrency Market?”
Final Thoughts
The crypto market also hopes for more corporate participation in the cryptocurrency and blockchain domains. The growing number of corporate Bitcoin holders is a promising indication on that front. One can safely say that Bitcoin perpetuated its place in this world today. It’s just a matter of sooner or later when countries adapt it to their economies. This year may present more opportunities and milestones for Bitcoin.
