From holding to controlling: When Bitcoin starts "buying up publicly traded companies"

Author: Conflux

For the first time, Bitcoin has entered the capital structure of a listed company as an "investment asset".

On February 4, Nasdaq-listed insurance brokerage firm Tianruixiang Holdings announced that an undisclosed investor would contribute 15,000 bitcoins in exchange for equity in the company. At the time, bitcoins were valued at approximately $75,000, making the investment worth approximately $1.1 billion.

The announcement did not disclose specific details, but it has accomplished a historic breakthrough: for the first time, Bitcoin has entered the equity structure of a Nasdaq-listed company as an "investment asset".

This is not buying an ETF, not holding BTC, and not issuing bonds to buy cryptocurrency. This is exchanging Bitcoin directly for shares in a listed company.

Over the past two years, a profound change has been taking place: Bitcoin has begun to systematically enter the balance sheets of listed companies.

Take Strategy as an example; it has completely changed the operating logic of traditional listed companies. It no longer makes money by selling software, but has become a financial machine: constantly issuing stocks, convertible bonds, etc., and converting financing into Bitcoin.

Legally, it is a Nasdaq-listed company.

Financially, it's more like a "Bitcoin asset amplifier";

In the capital market, it has become a Bitcoin channel that does not require ETFs and can be traded directly.

Metaplanet in Japan, Twenty One Capital and Bitcoin Standard Treasury in the United States are all following the same path as Strategy.

These companies have formed a new species – Bitcoin Treasury Companies .

To date, a large group of publicly listed companies globally hold the most Bitcoin:

• Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy): Over 710,000 Bitcoins
• Large mining companies such as MARA, Riot, and Hut 8
• Trading platforms such as Coinbase and Bullish
• Bitcoin treasury companies such as Twenty One Capital, Metaplanet, and Bitcoin Standard Treasury
• Even technology and payment companies like Tesla and Block.

These companies have one thing in common: they have transformed Bitcoin from an investment asset into part of their corporate capital structure.

Tian Ruixiang's transaction of 15,000 Bitcoins represents a leap forward in this direction of development.

If the transaction is completed, Tianruixiang will surpass US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to become the world's eighth largest Bitcoin treasury company with a holding of 15,000 Bitcoins.

But the difference between it and Strategies, mining companies, and exchanges is that it didn't "buy Bitcoin with fiat currency," but rather it was more like "buying the shell of a Nasdaq-listed company" with Bitcoin.

In this structure, the deal no longer looks like an investment, but rather like a reverse takeover of traditional capital markets by crypto assets.

Bitcoin is no longer just "held" by companies, but is beginning to be used to reshape ownership itself.

From Strategy's more than 700,000 Bitcoins to mining companies, exchanges, and treasury companies, and now to transactions that directly exchange Bitcoin for shares in listed companies, a clear path has emerged: Bitcoin is reconstructing a "network of listed companies".

When this system becomes large enough, Bitcoin will no longer be just a "crypto asset," but will become a financial infrastructure embedded within the global system.

When enough listed companies use Bitcoin as the foundational layer of capital and ownership, Bitcoin will no longer be just a "crypto asset," but will become a financial infrastructure embedded within the global capital system.

*The content of this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Investing involves risk; please invest cautiously.