The growing adoption of bitcoin by corporate treasuries highlights a shift toward long-term investment strategies.
According to CNBC, publicly listed companies accelerated their bitcoin investments during the first six months of 2025, surpassing spot ETF purchases for the first time.
Public companies acquired about 131,000 BTC in the second quarter, growing their BTC holdings by 18%, according to data from Bitcoin Treasuries. In the same period, ETFs saw an 8% increase, equivalent to around 111,000 BTC.
Data from the first half of 2025 reveals that public companies acquired 245,510 bitcoins — more than double the 118,424 bitcoins absorbed by spot ETFs over the same period. This marks a 375% increase compared to the 51,653 bitcoins purchased by companies in the first half of 2024.
In contrast, spot ETFs experienced a 56% drop in purchases compared to the previous year, when they added 267,878 bitcoins during their initial launch phase.
Strategy contributed 135,600 bitcoins to 2025’s total purchases, accounting for 55% of the total. However, this share is down from 72% in 2024, signaling a broader distribution of acquisitions.
The ratio of 2.1 bitcoin purchased by companies for every bitcoin absorbed by ETFs suggests a paradigm shift in how the asset is perceived. Corporations are increasingly viewing bitcoin less as a speculative investment and more as a form of operational capital reserve or long-term treasury asset.
Boards of directors justify these acquisitions citing inflation hedging, cross-border liquidity, and brand alignment with digital finance. Some issuers also highlight accounting advantages: unlike cash, bitcoin gains are not taxed until realized, while any impairments reset the carrying value for future appreciation.
