Crypto treasury company

A crypto treasury company is a business, usually listed on a stock exchange, whose main strategy is to hold a crypto asset such as bitcoin or ether as its chief reserve, and to buy more by selling its own shares or debt. Buying the stock gives indirect exposure to the coins. No regulator or accounting body defines the category: it is a market label that companies apply to themselves.

Born at MicroStrategy in August 2020

The model started with a MicroStrategy press release of 11 August 2020: the software firm had bought 21,454 bitcoin for $250 million, fees included, and named bitcoin its primary treasury reserve asset.

The company now calls itself Strategy. Its 8-K of 9 November 2026 reports 850,364 BTC held as of 8 November, bought for $64.16 billion in total, an average of $75,456 per coin.

How a crypto treasury company raises the money

1. It sells new shares gradually through a broker in an at-the-market (ATM) programme, or places them privately.
2. It borrows through convertible notes or issues preferred stock paying a fixed dividend.
3. It buys the crypto asset and reports holdings regularly.
4. It tracks coins per fully diluted share, often under the name “BTC Yield”.

In the week of 2 to 8 November 2026, Strategy sold 2,051,348 MSTR shares for net proceeds of $283.8 million, spent $81.9 million on 1,036 BTC and $188.3 million buying back STRC preferred shares, as our report on that 8-K details.

mNAV: what the market pays for the coins

The key ratio is mNAV. In a filing of 2 June 2025, Strategy defines it as enterprise value (equity at market value plus debt and preferred stock, minus cash) divided by bitcoin held times the bitcoin price. The filing itself warns this is not net asset value in the usual sense. Trackers often quote a “basic” version: market capitalisation divided by the value of the coins. Above 1 is a premium, below 1 a discount.

Take a hypothetical Company X. It holds 10,000 BTC at $70,000, worth $700 million. Its 100 million shares trade at $10.50, a market value of $1,050 million. It owes $150 million, has $100 million of preferred stock and $50 million of cash. Basic mNAV is 1,050 / 700 = 1.50. Enterprise value is 1,050 + 150 + 100 − 50 = $1,250 million, so enterprise mNAV is 1,250 / 700 = 1.79.

Now Company X sells 10 million new shares and puts all the money, before fees, into bitcoin. It starts at 0.0001 BTC per share. At $10.50, it raises $105 million and buys 1,500 BTC: 11,500 / 110 million gives 0.0001045, up 4.5% per share. If the share had fallen to $5.60 (basic mNAV 0.8), it would raise $56 million and buy 800 BTC: 10,800 / 110 million gives 0.0000982, down 1.8%.

Selling shares adds coins per share only while the stock trades above the value of the coins. Below that, each sale shrinks every holder’s claim, which is why some firms buy back stock or sell coins instead.

Fair-value accounting turns price swings into profits and losses

Under US GAAP, FASB’s ASU 2023-08, issued in December 2023, requires in-scope crypto assets to be measured at fair value each reporting period, with changes booked in net income. It applies to fiscal years beginning after 15 December 2024. Before, falls were recorded and rises were not.

Strategy reported Q3 2026 net income of $19.53 billion, driven by a $20.91 billion gain on digital assets. Bitmine’s 10-K for the year to 31 August 2026 shows a net loss of $6,313.4 million, $6,229.1 million of it an unrealised loss on its digital assets, mostly ether. Neither is cash, as our look at third-quarter marks shows for Sharplink too.

Dilution, discounts, forced sales and index exits

Bitmine had 613,267,022 shares outstanding on 31 August 2026, about 2.6 times the 232,412,324 of a year earlier. Coins per share can fall as holdings grow: Strategy’s Q3 release put its BTC Yield at minus 3.7% for the year to 25 October, while its holdings rose 26%.

By Coindaro’s calculation, Bitmine’s shares traded near 0.87 times its ether and cash on 10 November 2026. Its 626,451,021 shares (10-K cover, 4 November) at the $18.08 close make $11.33 billion. Its 6,070,092 ETH (company release, as of 8 November) at $2,058.54 (Coinbase, 21:00 UTC on 10 November) are worth $12.50 billion, plus $0.475 billion of cash and securities: $12.97 billion.

Fixed dividends and debt can force sales: Strategy’s Q3 release says it sold about 5,552 BTC to fund dividends and buybacks. Rumble sold its last 94.68 BTC on 14 October 2026 for $7,755,736, its 10-Q shows. MSCI drops Strategy from its USA index, and with it the World and ACWI, at the close of 30 November 2026, as our report on the MSCI decision explains. That is not a delisting.

What it means for readers in Europe

In Paris, Capital B, formerly The Blockchain Group, listed on Euronext Growth, calls itself a “Bitcoin Treasury Company”. Its release of 1 June 2026 reported 3,139 BTC bought for €283.8 million in total, at an average of €90,418. MSCI World trackers will lose Strategy after 30 November.

Crypto treasury companies: questions readers ask

How many crypto treasury companies are there?

There is no official count. No regulator or index provider defines the category, so trackers set their own rules and reach different totals.

What is mNAV?

mNAV compares a company’s market value with the value of its crypto. Strategy’s version uses enterprise value, adding debt and preferred stock and subtracting cash; the basic one uses market capitalisation. A reading of 1.5 means the market pays $1.50 per dollar of coins.

How do bitcoin treasury companies make money?

Mostly not in cash from the coins. Their reported profits under fair-value rules are largely unrealised price gains. The stated aim is to raise coins per share by issuing stock at a premium. Ether holders such as Bitmine also earn staking income.

Is owning the shares the same as owning the coins?

No. A share is a claim on a company, with its debt, dividends, management and new share issues. It can trade well above or below the value of its coins and can leave an index. Holding coins yourself brings custody risks of another kind.