List of Publicly Traded Companies Charging into Crypto: The Expected Move, the Brilliant Move, and the Mediocre Move
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List of Publicly Traded Companies Charging into Crypto: The Expected Move, the Brilliant Move, and the Mediocre Move
The success of listed companies in the field of crypto assets will depend on their ability to go beyond short-term speculation.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy: Sanqing
I. Introduction
Digital assets, particularly Bitcoin and Ethereum, are no longer niche investments but have evolved into a force that cannot be ignored. In 2024, Bitcoin's performance was especially outstanding, delivering returns exceeding 113% and significantly outperforming all major traditional asset classes—further attracting widespread institutional investor attention.
Currently, global investment assets exceed $200 trillion, with cryptocurrencies accounting for approximately 1.5%. This growth trend presents new opportunities for enterprises while simultaneously bringing unprecedented challenges. This article will analyze different corporate strategies, practices, and potential risks in the cryptocurrency space through the Go concepts of "basic move" (ben shou), "brilliant move" (miao shou), and "subpar move" (su shou).
II. “Basic Move” (Ben Shou): Prudent Cryptocurrency Asset Allocation and Operations
Characteristics: Risk Control as the Core Principle
Publicly traded companies adopting a "basic move" strategy typically treat crypto assets as alternative reserve holdings—aimed at diversifying against traditional currency depreciation risk or serving as a natural extension of their core business. Key characteristics include relatively controlled investment scale, logical alignment with primary operations, and emphasis on compliance and transparency. These firms generally do not rely on crypto investments as a primary profit source but rather use them as tools for treasury management or operational support.
The adoption of Bitcoin as a treasury asset by non-crypto-native companies highlights the growing acceptance of Bitcoin as a legitimate store of value—akin to digital gold—on corporate balance sheets. This shift signifies an evolution in corporate interest in digital assets, moving beyond pure speculation toward a more institutional and long-term perspective.
Traditionally, corporate treasury departments hold cash and cash equivalents to ensure liquidity and stability. However, some companies now maintain reserves across multiple currencies, with certain firms explicitly designating Bitcoin as their "primary treasury reserve," positioning it as a substitute for traditional cash holdings. Such a strategic decision by a non-crypto company closely aligns with the "digital gold" narrative, indicating increasing institutional confidence that Bitcoin can hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty—elevating its status beyond mere speculation into a component of corporate treasury management.
Case Study: Bitcoin as a Reserve Asset
Tesla: Cautious Experimentation and Strategic Adjustment
In February 2021, Tesla made a bold announcement: purchasing approximately 42,902 bitcoins worth around $1.5 billion, aiming to "maximize cash returns." This move was seen as a major endorsement of cryptocurrencies by a tech giant, contributing to a rise in Bitcoin’s price.
However, Tesla’s strategy was not static—the adaptability being a hallmark of the "basic move." The company paused accepting Bitcoin payments in May 2021 due to concerns over Bitcoin mining’s energy consumption, and in July 2022 sold 75% of its Bitcoin holdings, reducing its position to 10,725 BTC. Despite this large-scale sale, the remaining holdings appreciated significantly during market rallies, reaching a value of over $1 billion by the end of 2024, generating reported profits of $495 million.
This approach—making an initial aggressive investment followed by pragmatic adjustments based on external factors (such as environmental impact)—demonstrates flexibility, responsiveness to stakeholder concerns, and disciplined profit realization when managing highly volatile assets. It distinguishes itself from blind, gambling-like speculation.
Pure speculation might involve doubling down regardless of external issues or abandoning the asset entirely upon losses. Tesla’s decision to sell most of its holdings due to environmental concerns while retaining a profitable core reflects a nuanced, responsible strategy prioritizing long-term brand value and risk management over unrestrained speculation. This thoughtful response—even after an initially bold entry—epitomizes the essence of the "basic move."
Semler Scientific: Exploring Alternative Cash Reserves
Healthcare company Semler Scientific announced last May its adoption of Bitcoin as a primary reserve asset, initially acquiring 581 BTC for $40 million. Since then, the company has continued accumulating, recently disclosing holdings of 3,192 BTC at a total cost of $280.4 million, averaging $87,854 per coin. The board believes holding Bitcoin represents the best use of its cash reserves, viewing it as a replacement for traditional cash holdings.
A healthcare company adopting Bitcoin as a main treasury asset marks broader, cross-industry validation of Bitcoin’s potential role in corporate treasury management. This extends the narratives of "inflation hedging" and "digital gold" beyond tech and crypto-native sectors, suggesting macroeconomic anxieties and demand for alternative stores of value are driving more diverse public companies to consider adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets.
For a non-tech or non-crypto firm, designating Bitcoin as a "primary treasury reserve" is a significant departure from conventional treasury practices. This decision implies strong conviction in Bitcoin’s long-term value proposition as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty—not short-term speculation. It shows that the "basic move" of treasury diversification is evolving to include non-traditional assets, driven by mature assessments of macroeconomic risks.
Case Study: Core Business Integration by Crypto-Native Enterprises
Coinbase: Long-Term Holding and Ecosystem Support
As one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase has held Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies since its founding in 2012, treating them as long-term assets supporting the crypto economy and ecosystem. In 2021, Coinbase updated its investment policy, committing $500 million in cash and equivalents to a diversified crypto asset portfolio and allocating 10% of its quarterly net revenue to this portfolio.
Coinbase’s strategy of maintaining a diversified crypto portfolio and reinvesting a portion of its net income demonstrates a "skin-in-the-game" approach. By directly tying its financial interests to the growth and stability of the crypto economy it serves, Coinbase strengthens investor confidence and showcases deep commitment to the digital asset sector. This goes beyond treasury management—it is a strategic investment in the market it enables, reinforcing its credibility as a native crypto entity.
Holding crypto assets is a natural "basic move" for a crypto exchange. But pledging a fixed percentage of net income and holding a diversified portfolio (not just Bitcoin) indicates deeper strategic alignment with the entire crypto ecosystem. This active investment in the very assets it trades and the ecosystems it supports transcends basic financial management; it is a trust-building measure, a signal of long-term belief, and a way to directly benefit from the overall health and expansion of the crypto economy.
Block: Strategic Vision Integrated with Digital Payments
Block (formerly Square) holds 8,038 BTC, with its investment closely aligned with its vision of expanding in digital payments and fintech. CEO Jack Dorsey views Bitcoin as the native currency of the internet, and the company sees its investment as a tool for "economic empowerment" and actively supports Bitcoin development.
Block’s Bitcoin holdings are not merely about treasury diversification—they are a direct manifestation of its CEO’s strategic vision for the future of digital payments and the internet.
This illustrates how a "basic move" can be deeply embedded within a company’s long-term strategic narrative, going far beyond simple financial management to become a core part of its identity and direction. It is a foundational action that reinforces the company’s mission and aligns its financial assets with its technological and philosophical commitments. Unlike many companies that treat crypto as a standalone investment, Block’s strategy is clearly tied to its fundamental belief in Bitcoin as "internet-native money." This elevates its crypto holdings from pure financial assets to strategic assets underpinning business development, product innovation, and long-term market positioning. The deep integration of treasury strategy with corporate vision is a hallmark of a well-executed "basic move."
III. “Brilliant Move” (Miao Shou): Innovative Cryptocurrency Financing and Growth Strategies
Characteristics: Empowering Corporate Value Through Crypto Assets
The "brilliant move" strategy goes beyond simple asset holding, deeply integrating crypto assets into a company’s capital structure, business model, or growth engine to create new value streams or significantly enhance competitiveness. Its core lies in using sophisticated financial engineering or business innovation to transform the unique properties of crypto assets—such as decentralization and programmability—into distinct competitive advantages. These strategies often require high levels of expertise, forward-thinking, and precise risk management.
Case Study: MicroStrategy’s “Bitcoin Standard” and Capital Stack
Multilayered Financing Mechanism and Bitcoin Accumulation
Under Michael Saylor’s leadership, MicroStrategy (now Strategy) shifted its core business from enterprise analytics software to a Bitcoin-centric strategy starting in 2020, becoming the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. Its true innovation lies in its "capital stack" financing model—issuing convertible notes, various classes of preferred stock (Strife Preferred Stock, Strike Preferred Stock, Stride Preferred Stock), and common stock—to efficiently convert fiat capital into Bitcoin exposure without relinquishing control or excessively diluting shareholder value.
MicroStrategy’s "brilliant move" is not just about buying Bitcoin, but *how* it funds those purchases. Its multilayered capital stack is a complex financial innovation that allows it to leverage different investor risk appetites to effectively create Bitcoin-backed "synthetic bonds." This transforms a simple treasury strategy into a sophisticated financial product, setting it apart from mere Bitcoin accumulation and creating a unique market position. Such deep financial engineering provides a competitive advantage difficult for others to replicate without similar expertise and market trust.
Specifically, convertible notes offer low risk with potential Bitcoin-linked upside, appealing to institutional debt investors; Strife Preferred mimics high-grade fixed income, attracting conservative investors; Strike Preferred combines fixed income with equity upside; Stride Preferred acts as junior capital buffer, targeting high-yield seekers; and common stock appeals to believers in Bitcoin. As of May 2025, Strategy had accumulated 580,250 BTC, funded through equity and debt issuance as well as operating cash flow.
Investor Appeal and Market Positioning
MicroStrategy’s strategy makes its stock a leveraged bet on Bitcoin, attracting investors seeking crypto exposure through a regulated public company. Michael Saylor aims to challenge the multi-trillion-dollar global bond market by issuing yield-bearing instruments linked to Bitcoin to meet diverse capital demands.
MicroStrategy has effectively created a new type of investment vehicle: a publicly traded proxy for direct Bitcoin exposure, with a capital structure carefully designed to attract a broader range of institutional investors than direct crypto ownership or traditional Bitcoin ETFs. This expands the investable universe for crypto-interested capital, offering diversified risk profiles within a single corporate entity. While Bitcoin ETFs exist, MicroStrategy offers a different option.
By structuring its balance sheet around Bitcoin and issuing various debt/equity instruments, it enables investors with varying risk tolerances to gain Bitcoin exposure—potentially attracting those restricted by regulation or internal mandates from investing directly in crypto or via traditional ETFs. This strategic positioning creates a unique niche and draws capital that might otherwise remain on the sidelines of the crypto market.
Case Study: SharpLink Gaming’s Ethereum Strategic Initiative
Imitation and Innovation: Financing Model and Business Expansion
Sports betting platform SharpLink Gaming announced an ambitious plan to invest $1 billion in purchasing Ethereum, inspired by Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin strategy. The funding would come from issuing up to $1 billion in common stock, with Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum, serving as chairman of the board—adding credibility and technical expertise to the initiative.
SharpLink Gaming’s adoption of a Saylor-style strategy for Ethereum suggests his "brilliant move" is becoming a replicable blueprint beyond Bitcoin. This signals a trend where companies may apply similar capital-raising and treasury strategies to other major digital assets, expanding corporate crypto participation beyond Bitcoin and reflecting growing confidence in the broader digital asset ecosystem. MicroStrategy pioneered the “Bitcoin standard.”
SharpLink applying a similar model to Ethereum represents a wider validation of this strategic approach. Joseph Lubin’s involvement further legitimizes this adaptation to "altcoins," showing that the "brilliant move" isn't limited to Bitcoin but can also apply to foundational blockchain assets with robust ecosystems and clear use cases—such as smart contracts and dApps. This indicates a strategic evolution from single-asset focus to multi-asset digital treasury strategies.
Market Reaction and Potential Impact
SharpLink Gaming’s announcement triggered significant market interest and positive reactions, with its stock surging over 400%, including a 24.75% jump on June 3, 2025 alone. This reflects market confidence in its bold financial strategy and ambition to lead an Ethereum treasury initiative. Investing in Ethereum is not just a financial decision—it is a strategic one aimed at leveraging Ethereum’s blockchain technology (smart contracts, dApps) to enhance services and maintain competitiveness in a fast-evolving tech landscape.
The positive market reaction indicates investors increasingly reward companies that clearly articulate the strategic rationale behind their crypto involvement—especially when integrated with core operations and backed by trusted leaders. This moves beyond mere "crypto hype" toward recognition of long-term value creation through blockchain technology, signaling maturation in investor understanding of the space.
The stock surge wasn’t solely due to Ethereum purchases—it stemmed from the strategic intent to use Ethereum’s technology to build dApps and smart contracts to upgrade its sports betting platform. This shows the market is beginning to distinguish between speculative crypto investments and those with clear, technology-driven business integration strategies—thereby reinforcing the concept of the "brilliant move." The involvement of prominent figures like Joseph Lubin adds further investor confidence and legitimacy.
Risk-Reward Trade-offs in Innovative Strategies
While the "brilliant move" holds great potential, it comes with high risks. MicroStrategy’s strategy tightly links its stock price to Bitcoin, exposing it to substantial market volatility. Analysts note that not all companies can successfully replicate MicroStrategy’s approach, as its edge lies in financial innovation, not simple mimicry. Blind imitation could result in "subpar move" outcomes due to a lack of deep understanding of one’s own risk tolerance and market conditions.
Although MicroStrategy exemplifies the "brilliant move," the question remains whether other "Bitcoin treasury companies" can establish similar competitive advantages or "economic moats." Without unique financial innovation or deep business integration, simply holding crypto—even with clever financing—may fail to deliver sustainable differentiation. If companies pursue asset appreciation without understanding market dynamics, they may ultimately fall into the trap of the "subpar move."
It’s hard to argue that any treasury business is inherently more investable than another, as none possess an economic moat capable of retaining investor capital. This poses a critical challenge for any company attempting a "brilliant move." If the innovation is purely financial and easily copied, or if the underlying business cannot support such innovation (as arguably seen with MicroStrategy’s core operations), the "brilliant move" quickly devolves into a "subpar move"—leaving the company overly dependent on the volatile crypto market.
IV. “Subpar Move” (Su Shou): Blind Bandwagoning and Failed Crypto Attempts
Characteristics: Speculative Behavior Lacking Strategic Depth
The "subpar move" typically manifests as blindly chasing market trends, lacking deep understanding of crypto assets’ nature, risks, or fit with the company’s own business. These attempts are often driven by short-term speculation, fail to establish sustainable business models, and ultimately lead to financial losses, reputational damage, regulatory penalties, or even bankruptcy. At its core are irrational decisions, poor execution, and underestimation of risk.
Many "subpar move" cases share a common trait: companies enter the crypto space at peak hype, driven by FOMO and the desire for quick gains rather than fundamental analysis or long-term strategy. This often results in overpriced investments that suffer heavy losses during inevitable market corrections—revealing a failure to apply prudent investment principles to emerging asset classes. SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son investing near Bitcoin’s all-time highs is a classic example. Individual investors are especially prone to being swayed by market frenzy, making poorly timed or ill-conceived investments—the direct cause of "subpar move" outcomes, as they prioritize speculative returns over sound strategic planning and risk management.
Case Study: Hype-Chasing and Conceptual Gimmicks
Meitu: Investment Losses and Core Business Struggles
In 2021, Meitu made a high-profile announcement to purchase Bitcoin and Ethereum for approximately $100 million (RMB 670 million), becoming one of the first Hong Kong-listed companies to openly "trade crypto." At the time, this was viewed as a signal of entering Web3 and blockchain, briefly sending its stock up over 14%. However, amid sharp crypto market volatility, Meitu faced asset impairments in the first half of 2022, with unrealized losses ranging from RMB 275 million to 350 million.
Though Ethereum gains temporarily offset Bitcoin losses, overall holdings lost around 80% from their peak. Combined with weak core business performance and declining user numbers for Meitu Xiuxiu, the company faced mounting challenges. At the time, observers widely believed Meitu’s attempt to find new growth through digital assets had failed and instead exacerbated financial risk.
As the crypto market gradually recovered, Meitu eventually sold all its crypto holdings by the end of 2024, realizing cumulative net gains of approximately RMB 571 million, achieving a successful "exit." While ultimately profitable, the CEO admitted that given the chance, he would prefer to allocate funds to innovation projects related to the core business, citing excessive management costs and uncertainty caused by price volatility. Meitu’s case reveals that when facing bottlenecks in its main business, blindly betting on high-risk assets may yield short-term gains—but such speculative behavior, lacking strategic depth and straying from core operations, is precisely the hallmark of a "subpar move."
GameStop: Speculative Gambles Amid Transformation Challenges
In March 2025, GameStop hastily revised its investment policy to allow Bitcoin holdings and raised $1.3–1.5 billion via zero-coupon convertible bonds, stating proceeds "could be fully used for crypto purchases depending on market conditions." Just two months later, it announced the purchase of 4,710 BTC at a total cost of approximately $510 million—about 11% of its cash reserves at the end of fiscal 2024. Fueled by the "follow MicroStrategy" narrative, GME shares surged 7% pre-market on the news but closed down 10%—a classic pattern of emotional spike followed by collapse—indicating market skepticism toward this "gamble-style transformation."
To fund these purchases, GameStop had already increased its outstanding shares to 395 million by 2024 through ATM offerings and secondary issuances—a 29% year-on-year increase. If all zero-coupon bonds are converted, equity would be diluted by another 10%. Meanwhile, its fiscal 2024 revenue dropped from $5.27 billion to $3.82 billion, with its physical retail business continuing to shrink. With unstable cash flows and continuous equity dilution, placing its core growth bet on highly volatile Bitcoin resembles less a digital strategy and more a "FOMO-driven" short-term gamble.
Due to insufficient strategic depth and crude risk management, this move became a textbook "subpar move": a Bitcoin price correction could prevent long-term profits and, combined with equity dilution and debt leverage, accelerate fundamental deterioration—leading to severe stock volatility and putting its "gamble-style transformation" under serious strain.
“Subpar Moves” Are More Vulnerable to General Risks and Challenges in Crypto Investing
Valuation Bubbles and Asset Churning
The crypto market exhibits clear "asset churning," where prices are determined by marginal trades, then multiplied by the number of tokens to derive market cap.
Yet, this market cap contains inflated components that shrink when converting back to fiat systems—especially for assets with low secondary market liquidity, small circulating supply, or susceptibility to price manipulation. From a real-economy perspective, the crypto market differs fundamentally from mainstream finance, where returns stem from actual production and business activities.
When market pricing fully reflects investor expectations, asset prices often face correction pressure. The crypto market is heavily influenced by sentiment—positive moods drive prices up, negative ones trigger sell-offs. This emotion-driven behavior makes crypto price movements relative to stock indices highly unpredictable.
Lack of Regulation and Market Fragility
A key risk in the crypto market is the absence of regulation and safety nets. Currently, only a small fraction of crypto activities are regulated, while most operate with unchecked risk-taking—for instance, centralized exchanges (CEXs) offering over 100x leverage trading, unimaginable in traditional finance.
When crises strike—whether sharp price drops, massive investor losses, or runs on centralized institutions—there is no government safety net. Crisis resolution in the crypto market largely happens spontaneously and chaotically, causing irreversible harm to some investors and institutions.
The cross-sectoral and cross-border nature of crypto reduces the effectiveness of uncoordinated national regulations. International bodies like the IMF urge that crypto service providers should be licensed, registered, and authorized, with additional prudential requirements for multi-functional entities to manage conflicts of interest. The lack of uniform accounting standards leads to heterogeneous financial reporting, potentially affecting analysts' views on corporate crypto holdings and increasing information asymmetry.
Information Asymmetry and Investor Sentiment
Corporate crypto holdings are significantly associated with increased analyst forecast errors and dispersion, and greater variation in analyst recommendations. This indicates crypto adds complexity to analyst decision-making and heightens information asymmetry. Without consistent accounting rules, analysts struggle to accurately assess the impact of crypto holdings on corporate financial performance.
Investors often share similar strategies, portfolios, algorithms, and emotions—leading to herd behavior during market turmoil, especially among retail investors.
This sentiment transmission mechanism, combined with the inherent interconnectedness of the crypto market, allows risks to spread rapidly. For example, when a DeFi project fails, even without direct balance sheet links, similar projects may face bank runs due to user doubts about sustainability.
V. Conclusion
The exploration of public companies in the cryptocurrency space resembles a game of Go, featuring both steady "basic moves" and ingenious "brilliant moves," alongside missteps known as "subpar moves." Successful companies integrate digital assets into their core strategies, prudently manage risks, and proactively adapt to an evolving regulatory landscape.
The success of public companies in the crypto domain will depend on their ability to transcend short-term speculation—treating digital assets as long-term strategic holdings integrated with core value creation. This requires a deep understanding of blockchain technology and the potential of the crypto economy, not merely focusing on short-term token price fluctuations. For enterprises, the true "brilliant move" lies in foreseeing and shaping the future of the digital economy—using crypto assets as tools to realize that vision, rather than engaging in mere number games on financial statements.
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