Corporate finance, often seen as a steady ship, is currently navigating some choppy waters. For decades, the treasury function simply managed cash, aiming for safety and liquidity. But a significant shift is underway, one that asks companies to rethink everything they thought they knew about safeguarding their assets.
- Corporate treasuries are evolving from simple cash management to strategic asset safeguarding, driven by concerns over monetary debasement. Companies are increasingly holding Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and a store of value.
- Bitcoin treasuries offer innovative ways to interact with capital markets, allowing companies to issue shares at a premium and raise debt at low interest rates, thereby increasing Bitcoin holdings per share for existing shareholders.
- The success of Bitcoin treasuries depends on building investor trust through transparent reporting and a consistent belief in Bitcoin, alongside robust business practices and a profitable operating core to navigate market volatility and potential consolidation.
This major change started with Michael Saylor at Strategy. His company now holds a remarkable amount of Bitcoin, over 3% of the total supply, according to recent reports. Strategy isn’t alone anymore. Public companies now collectively hold over one million Bitcoin, an amount valued at more than $120 billion as of October 2025.
The core idea behind this strategy is simple. We live in a time of monetary debasement. Central banks print more money, and its value slowly erodes. Gold, for instance, now trades above $4000 an ounce. In such an environment, any sensible entity, whether an individual or a company, seeks an asset that can outpace this decline.
Traditional corporate playbooks, with their focus on conservative cash management, risk more than just underperformance. They risk a loss of value, a slow bleed of reserves. Bitcoin, on the other hand, offers a finite supply. It has no single counterparty, and it boasts a track record of increasing value over more than ten years.
Bitcoin as a Corporate Asset
The real benefit of a Bitcoin treasury goes beyond simply holding the asset. It gives companies new ways to interact with capital markets. Unlike spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), companies can issue new shares at a premium to their Net Asset Value (NAV). They can also raise convertible debt with very low, or even zero, interest rates.
This approach allows companies to time their market access and Bitcoin purchases strategically. In effect, they can use market structures to grow their Bitcoin holdings per share over time. It is a structural financial innovation for treasury management, a new tool in the corporate finance kit.
The success of these early adopters creates a reinforcing effect. As more companies demonstrate that a Bitcoin treasury works, skepticism from capital markets fades. The necessary financial support systems, like custody services, reporting standards, and convertible debt options, also grow stronger and more refined.
One compelling aspect is what we call the mNAV value-creation concept. mNAV stands for market value to net asset value. When a company trades at a premium to its NAV, it can issue new shares, buy more Bitcoin, and in doing so, increase the Bitcoin per share (BPS) for its existing shareholders.
Consider Strategy, for example. In 2024, it delivered a 74.3% BTC Yield. This means long-term holders saw their underlying Bitcoin stake grow by that amount, not just from market price increases, but through the company’s actions. It is a powerful mechanism.
But why would an investor pay such a premium? It comes down to growth. Public companies can raise debt at a rate lower than Bitcoin’s long-term appreciation. From 2020 to 2025, Bitcoin’s annual growth rate was 64%. Future projections suggest it will continue to grow, averaging between 25-35%.
If a company’s funding costs are, say, 8%, the difference in growth rate benefits shareholders directly. If the Bitcoin per share grows faster than any dilution from new share issuance, shareholders gain. This creates a positive cycle: a premium mNAV leads to capital raises, which leads to more Bitcoin, which leads to higher BPS, which sustains the premium, and so on.
Another perspective highlights access. Many countries and markets have different rules for corporate and individual investors wanting to buy Bitcoin directly. In the UK, for instance, a vast amount of capital, £1.4 trillion, sits in personal pensions and tax-efficient savings accounts (ISAs) as of October 2025. For this capital, getting Bitcoin exposure through treasury companies is often the simplest way to achieve strong returns.
The Ups and Downs of mNAV
The journey for these treasury companies hasn’t always been smooth. Since the highs of summer 2025, we have seen a significant slump in the mNAVs of many Bitcoin treasury companies. This was due to a mix of flat price action and negative sentiment in the broader community.
Some early adopters saw their mNAV decline by 90% in a matter of weeks from their peaks. This tested investor confidence and the conviction of the companies themselves. As a share premium to NAV, mNAV is built on a foundation of both sentiment and underlying business strength.
Success for a corporate Bitcoin treasury depends on building investor trust. This means transparent reporting and a consistent belief in Bitcoin. It also requires solid business practices: maximizing BTC Yield through accretive capital raises, using debt wisely during market peaks, keeping mNAV above 1.2x, and defending it with share buybacks and debt reduction.
During a bear market, every company’s conviction faces a test. Those that hold firm and maintain a longer-term view will likely see rewards. The key to navigating a bear cycle is having a profitable operating business. This provides a steady flow of cash. That cash can then be used for accretive share buybacks if mNAV falls below one, or to buy Bitcoin at a discount without diluting existing shareholders.
Many companies entered this space with very small, barely profitable operating businesses. Metaplanet, for example, was a struggling hotel chain. These companies hoped the Bitcoin flywheel would revitalize their core business. It works well when times are good, as we saw in June of this year, when almost any company could command a premium.
But when Bitcoin’s price drops, and sentiment turns negative, vulnerabilities appear. Investors become less interested in pure treasury plays. The key to building a truly profitable operating business involves consistent revenue and growth, with a Bitcoin treasury added strategically.
When a company remains both profitable and expanding, a market valuation below an mNAV of 1 can only be attributed to irrational sentiment. It effectively misprices the business as “dead.” Combining a strong core business with stable or growing operational revenues and a growing Bitcoin reserve positions companies for lasting value, regardless of market swings. This approach will define the next stage of the treasury model, and it will show us which players will emerge stronger from bearish periods.
Risks and Consolidation
The compression of mNAV has been quite dramatic. Artemis Analytics reported three straight months of sharp mNAV declines through September 2025. Between 25% and 33% of treasury companies now trade below 1.0x NAV. This is “underwater” territory, where the positive flywheel reverses.
Strategy’s own mNAV, for instance, compressed from peaks of 6.0x in 2021 to about 1.21x today. This again highlights how important an operating business is for stability. Pure-play small treasuries without this foundation can quickly find themselves in deep trouble. Strategy is an exception, despite its operating business being marginal compared to its wider operations, because it is so far ahead in acquisition size.
When companies trade below 1.0x NAV, they face what some call “death spiral” mechanics. Capital raises become dilutive, destroying Bitcoin per share. This can trigger shareholders to leave, causing further mNAV decline and potentially forced liquidations. It is a serious challenge.
Last month, Strive acquired Semler Scientific in a $1.34 billion all-stock deal, paying a 210% premium. This combined their Bitcoin treasuries into a portfolio of 10,900 Bitcoin. This marks the first significant merger and acquisition (M&A) in the sector. It confirms the idea that struggling pure-play treasuries will become targets for acquisition due to their discounted Bitcoin holdings. We should expect to see more consolidation as companies with sub-1.0x mNAV become attractive acquisition targets.
The future of Bitcoin treasuries is just beginning. As more chief financial officers (CFOs) accept Bitcoin as a core part of corporate reserves, capital markets will reward careful, Bitcoin-native management. This will lead to increasing shareholder value. As adoption picks up speed, the connection between corporate finance and the Bitcoin network will bring about significant change.
The companies that succeed will not just hold Bitcoin. They will build profitable businesses around it, creating lasting shareholder value and business growth in a system that sometimes feels unsustainable. A Bitcoin treasury is no longer an option. It is not just a nice thing to have. It is becoming a necessity.
