How do major companies benefit from holding Bitcoin in their treasuries?
Bitcoin Treasuries Stall in Q4: Why Major Holders Continue to Stack Sats
Q4 showed a noticeable slowdown in new corporate Bitcoin treasury announcements and balance sheet adds. Yet beneath the headlines, the largest and most structurally important holders kept accumulating. With issuance cut post-halving and demand channels institutionalized via ETFs, the supply overhang keeps shrinking-even as some CFOs press pause into year-end.
Q4 Snapshot: Corporate Treasuries Plateau, Market Accumulation Persists
“Treasuries stall” doesn’t mean demand vanished. It reflects fewer high-profile corporate disclosures and a flatter pace of net additions among public companies in Q4. Meanwhile, ongoing inflows to spot Bitcoin ETFs, continued DCA by certain corporates, and historically strong long-term holder (LTH) ownership suggest accumulation continued-just via different pipes.
| Holder Type | Q4 Trend | Primary Drivers |
|---|---|---|
| Public company treasuries | Flat/slower additions | Year-end risk controls, board approvals, higher real rates |
| Spot Bitcoin ETFs (US + global) | Net inflows intermittent but positive on balance | Portfolio rebalancing, 60/40 complements, easy access |
| Long-term holders (whales, HNW, funds) | Net accumulation bias | Macro hedge, supply scarcity, custody improvements |
| Miners | Selective selling/hedging | Post-halving cash needs, energy costs, financing |
Key Reasons Corporate Bitcoin Treasuries Stalled in Q4
1) Year-End Governance and Accounting Timing
- Board risk committees often freeze new mandates late in the year, especially near price highs and volatility spikes.
- US accounting upgrades (FASB ASU 2023-08) move crypto to fair value for fiscal years beginning after Dec 15, 2024; many firms scheduled adoption and policy updates for the new fiscal year rather than Q4.
2) Elevated Real Yields and Financing Costs
- Even with easing in 2025, real rates remained above pre-2020 norms, raising hurdle rates for non-core assets on corporate balance sheets.
- Dollar strength versus some currencies in 2025 made BTC allocation costlier for non-USD treasuries.
3) Price Optics and Tax-Year Considerations
- Near-cycle highs invite scrutiny: optics of “buying the top” can delay approvals.
- Tax planning into year-end encourages deferral of new positions to Q1 for some firms.
Who Kept Stacking Sats-and Why
Spot Bitcoin ETFs as the Primary On-Ramp
- Since their US launch in 2024, spot Bitcoin ETFs have become a dominant channel for institutional and advisor-led demand, collectively holding hundreds of thousands of BTC.
- Intermittent outflows appeared around volatility, but cumulative 2025 flows remained strong as ETFs lowered operational and custody friction.
Corporate Strategists with Mandate and Playbook
- High-conviction corporates continued dollar-cost averaging and opportunistic converts issuance to fund purchases throughout 2024-2025.
- Fair value accounting reduces impairment pain, making ongoing BTC strategies operationally simpler for adopters already “over the governance hump.”
Long-Term Holders and Sovereign Signals
- On-chain cohorts with 155+ day coin age retain a historically high share of supply versus prior cycles, even after profit-taking waves.
- Sovereign-leaning buyers and state-affiliated programs-while smaller in absolute terms than ETFs-continued programmatic purchases that are less price-sensitive.
Supply-Side Squeeze: Post-Halving Scarcity Meets Institutional Pipes
Bitcoin’s April 2024 halving reduced issuance from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC per block. With structurally lower new supply, any incremental demand from ETFs, pensions, family offices, or corporates impacts price faster than in prior cycles.
| Market Structure | 2025 Reality | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Issuance | Halved in 2024 | Lower new supply to absorb flows |
| Custody | MPC, qualified custodians mainstream | Reduced operational risk for institutions |
| Liquidity | ETF primary/secondary creation-redemption | Efficient fiat-to-BTC rails tighten float |
- Exchange balances continue a multi-year downtrend as coins migrate to cold storage and ETF custodians.
- CME futures open interest and basis indicate persistent institutional hedging/long exposure, integrating BTC into macro portfolios.
What to Watch Next: Re-Acceleration Risks for Treasuries in Q1
- Accounting Tailwinds: Full-period adoption of FASB fair value rules can normalize BTC as a treasury reserve option for more public companies.
- Policy Clarity: EU MiCA implementation and maturing US ETF regulation lower compliance uncertainty for treasury committees.
- Playbook Maturity: Standardized custody, multi-sig governance, and audit-ready controls reduce time-to-yes for boards.
- Macro Shifts: Any easing in real rates, or renewed inflation hedging demand, could pull indecisive CFOs off the sidelines.
Conclusion: A Stall in Headlines, Not in Accumulation
Q4’s plateau in visible corporate treasuries reflected seasonality, governance cadence, and macro caution-not a turn in the structural bull case. The heavyweights-spot ETFs, high-conviction corporates, and long-term holders-kept stacking sats into reduced post-halving issuance. With fair value accounting in place and institutional rails hardened, the path of least resistance for 2026 is broader balance-sheet adoption, even if it arrives in punctuated bursts rather than a straight line.
