Analyst: Bitcoin's rise may revive buying by crypto treasury companies, but indiscriminate financing boom is unlikely to recur

BlockBeats news, October 20 — Ryan Rasmussen, Head of Research at Bitwise, said corporate Bitcoin purchases broadly slowed in the third quarter. Strategy's holdings increased by a net 1,666 BTC, down from 83,901 BTC in the second quarter; other listed companies added a net 5,617 BTC, down from 45,725 BTC in the previous quarter. He expects corporate Bitcoin buying to reaccelerate as early as this year.

Jag Kooner, Head of Derivatives at Bitfinex, believes that if a Bitcoin rally helps treasury companies regain a valuation premium relative to the value of their Bitcoin holdings, companies could continue buying Bitcoin by issuing additional shares without diluting existing shareholders' per-share Bitcoin exposure. However, investors are now more focused on financing costs, balance sheet discipline, and Bitcoin per share, and capital may preferentially flow to companies with more established scale, liquidity, and operating track records; the indiscriminate financing environment of last year is unlikely to return.

Rasmussen also noted that 12 companies that entered during the 2025 treasury boom have fully liquidated their holdings, mainly to repay debt or return cash to shareholders. However, corporate Bitcoin buying is not the only source of demand: spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of $6.4 billion in the third quarter. Kooner cautioned that some ETF activity consists of basis trades that could be closed quickly; data shows U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows of about $229 million last week, marking a second consecutive week of net outflows.