30 U.S.-listed companies follow the "MicroStrategy effect": small- and mid-cap firms lead in crypto reserves, with average stock prices surging up to 438%
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
30 U.S.-listed companies follow the "MicroStrategy effect": small- and mid-cap firms lead in crypto reserves, with average stock prices surging up to 438%
From finance to technology, from healthcare to entertainment, an increasing number of public companies are following MicroStrategy's path.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy: Nancy
After traditional crypto tactics such as rebranding and buyback-and-burns gradually lose effectiveness, a more capital-driven stock-coin model is emerging—becoming even a new narrative engine for crypto projects.
From finance to technology, healthcare to entertainment, an increasing number of publicly listed companies are following Strategy's path by adding crypto assets like BTC, ETH, SOL, and TRX to their balance sheets, launching a capital game of valuation repricing. This article by PANews compiles 30 U.S.-listed public companies that have officially announced crypto reserve plans.
From Financial Strategy to Valuation Logic: Mid-Cap Companies Massively Replicate the "MicroStrategy Effect"
As the pioneer of the stock-coin strategy, Strategy began including Bitcoin in its balance sheet back in August 2020—an aggressive move then seen as an alternative financial experiment. Five years later, what was once a niche tactic has evolved into a mainstream narrative adopted across industries. More and more companies, especially small-to-mid-cap public firms, are incorporating crypto assets into their reserves, attempting to reconstruct their valuation logic through "crypto reserves + capital market leverage."
Among the 30 U.S.-listed companies currently identified, beyond tech and fintech representatives such as Strategy, BTCS, and DeFi Technologies, traditional sectors including healthcare, biopharma, e-commerce, education, new energy vehicles, agricultural trading, and media & entertainment are also beginning to include crypto assets in their portfolios.
These companies often share common challenges—stagnant core business growth, flat valuations, and insufficient liquidity—such as SharpLink Gaming, Semler Scientific, Kindly MD, Quantum BioPharma, and Silo Pharma. In the face of blocked traditional paths, deploying crypto assets serves not only as a financial maneuver but also as an attempt to reshape capital market narratives. Take SharpLink Gaming, for instance. Once facing delisting due to poor performance, it announced Ethereum as its primary reserve asset at the end of 2024, quickly securing a $425 million financing deal. Its market attention surged, with market cap soaring from $2 million to tens of millions, completely transforming its valuation framework.
Crypto reserve structures remain overwhelmingly dominated by Bitcoin. According to our data, about 20 listed companies explicitly include BTC in their asset mix, including Strategy, GameStop, Trump Media, Rumble, Next Technology Holding, and Cantor Equity. Ethereum is gradually becoming the second most popular reserve asset, with BTCS, Treasure Global, and SharpLink Gaming among those choosing ETH allocations. Some firms adopt more diversified strategies—for example, DeFi Technologies, Siebert Financial, and Interactive Strength build hybrid crypto reserves using combinations of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other tokens, seeking balance between risk resilience and market hype potential.
In terms of timing, although Strategy initiated its Bitcoin reserve in 2020, few followed suit until Q4 2024, when Bitcoin prices rebounded sharply. Strategy’s stock price surged, driving massive returns from its stock-coin model and triggering a concentrated wave of adoption.
The majority of these follower companies have market caps ranging from $100 million to $1 billion, with reserve targets varying from several million to tens of billions of dollars. Strategy aims for a $10 billion Bitcoin reserve, Cantor Equity targets $3 billion, and Trump Media sets a goal of $2.5 billion. Notably, some companies’ reserve ambitions far exceed their current market caps, creating significant leverage risks. While this fuels speculative expectations, it also amplifies valuation bubbles.
In terms of stock performance, most companies experienced strong short-term rallies after announcing their reserve plans, averaging a peak increase of 438.53%. Strategy saw intraday highs up to 4,315.85% since its initial announcement; Asset Entities rose 2,096.72%; SharpLink Gaming climbed 1,747.62%; and Kindly MD jumped 791.54%. However, some companies saw minimal movement—SIEB, SILO, DTCK—suggesting market skepticism over their execution capability or narrative credibility.
Beyond the reserve action itself, certain firms amplify their market impact through strategic backing from major crypto players or well-known investors. For example, SharpLink Gaming partnered strategically with institutions like ConsenSys, gaining endorsement from the Ethereum ecosystem. Cantor Equity Partners merged with Twenty One Capital and launched its BTC reserve strategy, backed by Tether, SoftBank, and Brandon Lutnick, son of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. SRM Entertainment plans to hold TRX as its core reserve asset and announced support from TRON founder Justin Sun; on June 17, its trading volume briefly surpassed that of Alibaba and Tencent. Such crypto affiliations grant these firms not just financial positioning but also ecosystem influence, enhancing the linkage between on-chain assets and capital markets.
Clearly, more and more listed companies are no longer content with merely holding mainstream cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum—they’re now allocating to emerging assets such as XRP, SOL, TRON, and HYPE. Going forward, it may become a trend for crypto projects to lobby or partner with public companies to establish reserves.
Overall, the mass entry of listed firms into crypto reserves appears on the surface as recognition of digital assets, but beneath lies a sophisticated use of capital market mechanics. Especially amid weak earnings and constrained valuations, the stock-coin trend offers a powerful tool to reset valuation narratives. In the short term, it opens new financing avenues and narrative outlets for mid-cap firms. Long-term sustainability will depend on whether reserve structures remain viable, assets appreciate, and on-chain activities stay transparent—key factors determining whether this trend evolves healthily.
Eroding the Pie of Public Companies? Market Risks and Manipulation Concerns Mount
As the trend of adding crypto assets to corporate balance sheets spreads rapidly, it has sparked widespread debate around risk management, market manipulation, and institutional compatibility.
David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine, views this wave as a paradigm shift in capital structure. He bluntly stated, "Every time one of our Bitcoin treasury companies gets added to an index, a traditional non-Bitcoin-holding company gets kicked out. Sorry, your liquidity is now Bitcoin liquidity. Join or get被淘汰." (Note: "被淘汰" likely meant to be in English; context suggests “get eliminated”)
Blockstream CEO Adam Back issued a similar warning: "Bitcoin treasury companies are steadily eating into the pie of public companies. If you ignore the biggest arbitrage opportunity of the century, capital reallocation will eventually leave you behind. This isn’t really an 'option'."
Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly, believes founders always chase hot money in each market cycle. In the last cycle, launching tokens was the trend due to a highly active crypto capital market. Now, bringing tokens into the stock market (akin to treasury-company models) has become the new norm. He notes that hot money never stays in one place for long, which is why treasury models won't be the final form—but he expects the trend to continue for another 1–2 years before fading.
On risk management for crypto-reserve firms, Strategy CEO Michael Saylor advises, "Publishing on-chain proof of reserves is not a good idea." He argues that revealing wallet addresses could pose long-term tracking risks to institutions. Without audited liability disclosures from one of the Big Four accounting firms, standalone reserve information is meaningless.
Binance founder CZ emphasized on social media: "These companies are taking risks. Every company takes risks. Risk isn't binary—0 or 1. It's a spectrum from 0 to 100. As long as you find the right balance, you can achieve the optimal risk/ROI ratio for yourself. Risk must be managed. Not taking risk is itself a risk."
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed in a Q&A that he once considered putting up to 80% of the company's balance sheet into Bitcoin but ultimately abandoned the plan—"because it might destroy the company." He explained that in early stages, if BTC prices suddenly dropped, the company's cash runway could shrink from 18 months to just 10, impacting fundraising and operations. He added that Coinbase does hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet, with about 25% of net cash currently in crypto. "We won’t put 80% in—I think that would be too risky."
Regarding smaller public companies announcing large allocations to altcoins, VanEck’s Digital Assets Head Matthew Sigel pointed out that claims of purchasing hundreds of millions in tokens like XRP and SOL may simply be tactics to inflate stock prices of micro-cap firms, many of which trade on Nasdaq. "Many of these are insiders trying to pump and dump. If the market cap is negligible and there’s no disclosure of new investors, I consider it a scam."
Digital asset bank Sygnum warned in a recent report that companies like Strategy continuously buying Bitcoin via debt-financed leverage are deviating from traditional corporate financial principles. This practice could undermine Bitcoin’s suitability as a central bank reserve asset. Over-concentration may reduce market liquidity, exacerbate price volatility, and deter institutional adoption.
Early Bitcoin advocate Max Keiser questioned emerging Bitcoin treasury firms mimicking Strategy’s path, noting they haven’t yet endured a real bear market test. He stressed, "Saylor never sold Bitcoin during bear markets—he kept buying. Only companies that hold firm during the toughest times can truly be called faithful Bitcoin treasuries."
In sum, crypto assets are evolving from mere financial reserves into corporate strategy—but the success or failure of such strategies will ultimately be decided by the market.
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
PANews
