Then the pandemic hit and governments cut colossal stimulus cheques, sending stock and crypto markets on the ride of their lives.
As bitcoin surged to new heights in 2020 and 2021, a few companies began adding bitcoin to their balance sheets as a hedge against inflation.
According to CoinGecko, 27 publicly traded companies own about 225,413 bitcoin, or 1.18% of the total supply. They are worth around $4.6 billion at current prices.
Public companies
The first public firm to sense the opportunity at the start of the pandemic was Galaxy Digital Holdings, a Canadian crypto-focused merchant bank founded in January 2018.
Founder Michael Novogratz said in an interview in April 2020, just after the US announced additional stimulus measures: “Bitcoin has this moment right now. Just today we had another trillion dollar stimulus — money growing on trees, and my mother taught me when I was younger that money doesn’t grow on trees.”
Because it acted quickly, Galaxy Digital is still up on its investment even though bitcoin, which was a hair’s breadth from $70,000 in late 2021, is back around $20,000.
The company paid $134 million for its 16,402 bitcoins, which are now worth around $340 million.
The second company to jump on board in 2020 was cloud software firm MicroStrategy, which bought $425 million worth of the crypto asset in August and September.
After continuing its buying spree throughout 2021, the company adopted bitcoin as its primary reserve asset, effectively turning its stock into a mock bitcoin ETF.
Microstrategy is currently the largest owner of bitcoin with 129,218, or 0.615% of the total supply. Its $4 billion investment in the crypto asset is now worth about $2.7 billion.
Earlier this week, CEO Michael Saylor denied rumours that the company would have to liquidate some of its bitcoin holdings to meet a margin call for a bitcoin-backed loan if the cryptocurrency’s price fell below $21,000.
Jack Dorsey’s payments company Square (now called Block) took the plunge in October 2020 with a $50 million purchase of bitcoin. Its Q4 2020 earnings revealed it had picked up another $170 million worth.
Dorsey, an enthusiastic advocate for bitcoin, stepped down as Twitter CEO in December 2021 to focus on the payments company. A week later he changed its name from Square to Block, a reference to the blockchain technology underpins crypto.
The 8,027 bitcoin it paid $220 million for are currently worth about $165 million.
Four months later, Elon Musk’s Tesla announced it had bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin, splashing a significant portion of the $19 billion cash on hand it reported at the end of 2020.
Tesla sold 10% of its Bitcoin holdings in Q1 2021. Musk said this was “to prove liquidity of bitcoin as an alternative to holding cash” on Tesla’s balance sheet.
The company now owns 48,000 bitcoin, or 0.229% of the total supply, putting it second behind MicroStrategy.
Marathon Patent Group rounds up the top five with 4,813 bitcoin. Its $150 million investment is currently worth just under $100 million.
Private companies and governments
Private firms own roughly 174,068 bitcoin, or about 0.829% of the total supply, according to River.com. Chinese firm Block.one is the largest private owner with 140,000 bitcoin, or 0.667% of the total supply – more than any public company.
Governments across the world own an estimated 259,870 bitcoin, representing 1.237% of the total supply.
Written by Zaheer Merchant
Top Stories By Our Reporters
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Digital payments
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Ecommerce corner
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Manish Tiwary
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Cryptoverse
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Tech policy
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.jpg "Indian delegation with officials from MEA, MHA and MeitY have suggested measures_UN Ad hoc committee_MEA and MeitY_THUMB IMAGE_ETTECH_1 (1)")
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ETtech Done Deals
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The IT corner
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Startup Inc
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