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- While MicroStrategy dominates headlines, there are already 70 public companies holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets, with private entities controlling an additional 368,043 BTC according to Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan.<\/li>\n
- Recent changes to US GAAP accounting rules now allow companies to record Bitcoin price increases as profit instead of only recording losses, removing a major obstacle to corporate adoption.<\/li>\n
- The Bitwise CIO predicts hundreds of companies will add Bitcoin to their treasuries in the next 12-18 months due to reduced reputational risk and improved accounting standards, which could significantly impact the market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
MicroStrategy<\/a>. There, just one word and I got your attention. No, this is not about Michael Saylor\u2019s company buying more Bitcoin, although it did that too, like clockwork<\/a>.<\/p>\n
No, this is about how, despite being all over the news, their Bitcoin<\/a> buying strategy is one of the most under-the-radar things right now.<\/p>\n
Related:<\/strong> <\/strong>Report: Donald Trump to Issue Crypto Executive Order on Day One Back in Office<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
Sure, over in Japan, Metaplanet is following a similar strategy, and Semler Scientific just increased their Bitcoin holdings to 2,321 BTC.<\/p>\n
More Companies Are Buying Bitcoin<\/h2>\n
So, while most only think of MicroStrategy (MSTR) when they think about a company buying Bitcoin, there are more institutional buyers than most are aware of.<\/p>\n
According<\/a> to Matt Hougan, the Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise (which also holds the asset on their books) it\u2019s an overlooked trend and one he predicts will see acceleration in 2025.<\/p>\n
\nWe\u2019ll see hundreds of companies buy bitcoin for their treasuries over the next 12-18 months, and their purchases will lift the entire bitcoin market substantially higher.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/cdn.cryptonews.com.au\/2024\/05\/24150113\/Matt-Hougan-1.jpg\")
Matt Hougan <\/p>\n<\/div>\nThere are three reasons according to Hougan why; first, MSTR is bigger than you\u2019d expect, second, the trend is already bigger than MSTR, and last, the number of companies buying BTC is set to \u201cexplode\u201d.<\/p>\n
MicroStrategy bought more than the entire 2024 supply. That\u2019s right, they bought more BTC than was mined all year.<\/p>\n
Hougan compares Saylor\u2019s firm to Chipotle, which is of similar size, and while by no means a small company, the CIO says once a \u201creally big\u201d company starts buying, that\u2019s when things are starting to get interesting.<\/p>\n
Many MORE Companies Could Buy Bitcoin<\/h2>\n
He also points out that while MSTR gets all the attention, there are already \u201c70 publicly traded companies [which] own bitcoin on their balance sheets\u201d, and many private ones potentially as well \u2013 though we can\u2019t say for sure as they don\u2019t need to disclose that.<\/p>\n
\nThe public-company list includes well-known crypto companies like Coinbase and Marathon Digital, as well as non-crypto companies like Block, Tesla, Semlar [sic] Scientific, and Mercado Libre. Together, these companies\u2014excluding MicroStrategy\u2014own 141,302 BTC.<\/p>\n
Matt Hougan <\/p>\n<\/div>\nAnd Hougan says there are \u201cat least another 368,043 BTC\u201d owned by private entities.<\/p>\n
He has identified two reasons why those numbers are only going to increase: Reputational risk and accounting standards.<\/p>\n
In the past, adding Bitcoin to a corporate balance sheet was difficult and often frowned upon. Of course, the election of Trump has changed all that, and crypto is now discussed at the \u201chighest levels\u201d in the US (and elsewhere, too<\/a>).<\/p>\n
\nThis alone should cause the number of companies buying bitcoin to double.<\/p>\n
Matt Hougan <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\u201cAsk Yourself Two Questions\u201d<\/h2>\n
The other, much more significant reason, is that under US GAAP accounting rules Bitcoin was treated as an intangible asset and as such only a decrease in price could be recorded on the financial accounts, whereas a price increase had to be ignored.<\/p>\n
However, under new rules<\/a> which came into effect recently, this changed, and if BTC price goes up, \u201ccompanies can mark the value to market and book a profit\u201d.<\/p>\n