New analysis by London-based Nickel Digital Asset Management reveals 38 listed companies with a combined market cap of USD800 billion currently hold around USD21.7 billion worth of bitcoin.
The firm writes that this represents a 196 per cent increase in the value of their holdings compared to a year ago, when the corresponding figure was USD7.2 billion.
Publicly traded companies have emerged as major players in the digital assets ecosystem after MicroStrategy pioneered the integration of bitcoin into corporate treasuries when it purchased 21,454 BTC in August 2020. The company, which has increased its holdings almost tenfold (214,246 BTC to date) making it one of the largest institutional holders of bitcoin, paved the way for other notable public companies, such as Tesla, to follow.
Collectively, listed companies have expanded the size of their holdings by 19 per cent in the last year, following the purchase of a further 48,730 bitcoins. As a result, they now hold 309,637 BTC, equating to 1.5 per cent of the total bitcoin supply cap, which is pegged at 21 million.
Nickel Digital’s analysis highlights a strong North American bias in these allocations. Nearly three-quarters of the 38 listed companies reviewed are US (15) and Canadian (13) businesses, four are European, and the remaining six companies are from Turkey, Thailand, Australia, Japan, Argentina, and Hong Kong.
Private companies also play an influential role in the digital assets market, with 11 entities accumulating 525,460 bitcoins to date. The corresponding figure a year ago was 316,067 BTC, therefore representing a 66 per cent increase. Additionally, the total value of their bitcoin holdings has more than quadrupled in the same period to USD36.3 billion. Among the private companies with bitcoin holdings is blockchain solutions provider Block.one, the company behind the EOS blockchain.
The data shows there are two unlisted companies in the US, Switzerland and Hong Kong, and one in each of Gibraltar, Norway, Seychelles, Japan and Singapore.
Global research by Nickel Digital reveals growing mainstream acceptance of digital assets. Nearly nine out of 10 (87 per cent) institutional investors and wealth managers believe digital assets have an important role to play in diversified investment portfolios, with half (50 per cent) saying digital assets should represent a moderate portion of portfolios.
Anatoly Crachilov, CEO at Nickel Digital, says: “This analysis highlights the growing use of Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset by companies seeking to diversify their balance sheets. This significant institutional presence is helping to dive the wider adoption and long-term price stability of bitcoin, whilst demonstrating its strong potential as an alternative treasury management tool.”
