Bitcoin Treasury Firms Face Reality Check: Scale and Strategy Are Key

Bitcoin treasury companies are under a stark test: can they consistently outperform BTC itself, or should investors simply buy the asset directly?

“If you aren’t doing that, there’s no reason to run these strategies — just buy a Bitcoin ETF,” said Matt Cole, CEO of Strive Asset Management, during a panel at BTC Asia in Hong Kong. Cole, known for advocating GameStop (GME) putting BTC on its balance sheet, stressed that the path to alpha comes through financing and scale. He noted a shift from convertibles to perpetual preferred equity as a way to lock in leverage, but emphasized the biggest hurdle is building a $1 billion balance sheet.

“The hardest thing to do for bitcoin treasury companies is getting to a billion dollars,” Cole said, citing MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor. He also underscored bitcoin’s unique qualities as a treasury asset: fixed supply and long-term value preservation compared to Ethereum or other tokens, which behave more like equities.

Andrew Webley of The Smarter Web Company offered a complementary perspective. The U.K.-based web design firm, which holds BTC on its balance sheet, highlighted transparency, clear risk communication, and company size as equally important. “The most important thing you can do as a public company is publish your rules first,” Webley said. “If investors understand the risks, these treasury models can offer some of the best value opportunities in the world.”

The panel highlighted a central choice for investors: pursue aggressive strategies to outperform BTC or favor steady-growth firms emphasizing transparency and disciplined management. Either way, bitcoin’s role as a treasury asset is expanding amid ongoing fiat debasement.

Market Snapshot:

• BTC: Trading above $110,500, slightly lower after a minor pullback. Signs of accumulation near key support suggest bullish sentiment remains.
• ETH: Down 0.6% to $4,300, supported by institutional demand and ETF inflows.
• Gold: Near record highs amid rate-cut expectations and safe-haven demand, with a minor pullback from profit-taking.
• Nikkei 225: Rises on strong foreign buying, corporate reforms, and dovish U.S. cues.
• S&P 500: Up 0.83% to 6,502.08, shrugging off weak private jobs data while awaiting Friday’s employment report for rate-cut signals.