Bitcoin has become a meaningful treasury asset for a growing number of companies. MicroStrategy set the tone in 2020 when it became the first public company to add Bitcoin to its balance sheet. Today, nearly two hundred companies hold Bitcoin as a treasury asset, and businesses and governments across thirty-two countries collectively hold around eight percent of all Bitcoin in circulation.
The buying spree accelerated in 2025. Corporate Bitcoin holdings more than doubled, and at the time of publication, more than one hundred and forty billion dollars’ worth of BTC are reported on balance sheets worldwide. Between September and November 2025, several major firms including MicroStrategy, Coinbase, Hut 8, and Strive Asset Management continued to increase their positions. Most added through volatile market conditions, while only a handful reduced exposure, and by modest amounts.
Recent market volatility and the move to fair value accounting have made price movements far more visible in quarterly reporting. Because Bitcoin is trading below recent peaks, many companies now carry holdings valued below their purchase levels, forcing fresh conversations about how to manage those positions.
Recent moves in Bitcoin show how quickly unrealized gains can evaporate. From its October peak, Bitcoin has lost roughly thirty percent of its value into mid-November 2025. Companies with big positions in Bitcoin saw that full effect. For treasuries which had accumulated during the 2024-2025 rally, most are now materially underwater, and new accounting rules that took effect in January 2025 mean that drop goes straight into quarterly earnings.
We have already seen how this plays out in real markets. Tesla reported more than two hundred million dollars in losses during the 2022 downturn. MicroStrategy has faced similar paper losses on several occasions. The difference now is that under fair value accounting, both gains and losses pass through the P&L each quarter.
Finance leaders are looking for ways to offset these swings. Idle crypto earns nothing, yet it still carries real costs. These include custody, operational overhead, and the opportunity cost of capital that could be earning five percent in a cash account. Boards are starting to ask harder questions about what these positions contribute. In traditional treasury management, working capital generates returns. Crypto without a yield strategy sits idle and delivers nothing back to the balance sheet. But earning yield changes that! Rather than absorbing ongoing costs while hoping for future appreciation, treasuries can generate steady income that helps offset expenses and reduces the overall cost of holding the asset.
Most treasuries that want to grow their digital asset positions usually consider two familiar routes. They can commit new capital, or they can raise funds to increase exposure. Either route needs board approval and has implications for the balance sheet. Yield generation provides another way forward. SharpLink Gaming illustrates what this can look like in practice. The company placed the majority of its Ethereum into staking and, in a single week last month, earned 459 additional ETH through yield worth 1.5 million dollars at the time of publishing. On an annual basis this is close to 80 million dollars in income and several thousand ETH added to their holdings. This result came during a period of wider market stress, yet the company still reported stronger revenue and improved margins with their stock responding positively.
A good comparison is Metaplanet, which follows a passive approach. The Japanese company holds only Bitcoin and reported that its quarterly valuation gains fell thirty-nine percent as the market dropped. Its holdings also slipped below their average acquisition cost, leaving the company exposed to price movements with no offsetting income.
A Standard Chartered report in September 2025 found that firms generating yield attract higher valuations and handle market stress better. The bank noted that yield generation is becoming a key differentiator for companies.
For institutional treasuries, this means working with regulated counterparties. After the failures of 2022, the industry rebuilt. Today, European firms operate under the transparency, risk controls, and client asset protections required by MiCA. Treasury teams reporting to boards require this level of oversight. What was experimental has become institutional practice.
For treasuries holding positions below cost, the question is no longer whether to act, but what kind of action to take that makes sense. Fair value accounting means every price swing now hits quarterly results. Idle holdings absorb that full impact with nothing to show for it. Yield changes the picture. While it does not remove volatility, it does turn pure exposure into productive exposure and is a far easier position to defend to the board.
Tesseract, Europe’s first MiCA-regulated digital asset yield manager, works with institutional treasuries to generate compliant, risk-managed yield from crypto holdings. Our approach focuses on sustainable income that supports a long-term, accumulative treasury strategy, not short-term speculation.
If your treasury is assessing how digital assets can contribute more effectively to the balance sheet, our team can provide guidance on yield solutions that support your mandate. Get in touch today to discuss your requirements.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. This material does not constitute investment advice under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Its sole purpose is to provide general information about crypto-assets, the crypto market, and related investment activities. Mandatory service provider information under MiCA, details on distance selling as required by the Finnish Consumer Protection Act, and risk descriptions related to crypto-assets are available at www.tesseract.fi. Clients are advised to review this information before making investment decisions.
