DeFi Technologies, a publicly listed exchange-traded product (ETP) provider and venture capital firm, announced its decision to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as the company’s primary treasury reserve asset.
In its monthly corporate report, the company also announced that its subsidiary, Valour, repaid $5 million in loans and currently has $607 million in assets under management as of May 31, 2024.
Following the announcement, the price of DeFi Technologies' shares rose on Canadian stock exchanges and U.S. over-the-counter (OTC) exchanges. Its shares are currently trading at around $1.57 on U.S. OTC exchanges, up from the previous session's trading range of $1.16 to $1.40.
The shift in treasury strategy marks yet another instance of a publicly listed company embracing Bitcoin; it also highlights the broader trend in institutional adoption of the decentralized currency.
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On May 28, shares of Semler Scientific (SMLR) shot up by up to 30% after the Nasdaq-listed company announced the adoption of Bitcoin as its primary treasury asset and the purchase of 581 BTC, valued at $41 million at the time.
Government institutions are also now actively exploring Bitcoin as a portion of their investment portfolios and treasury assets. Earlier in May, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), Wisconsin’s pension fund manager, announced it had $164 million in exposure to Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, the world’s largest pension fund, also launched a research project with a five-year window to explore how digital assets like Bitcoin and traditional precious metals like gold could figure into its investment portfolio.
Although the growing institutional interest in Bitcoin is difficult to quantify, Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) data may serve as a proxy for gauging institutional sentiment toward the asset.
According to recent data from HODL15 Capital, Bitcoin ETFs have already accumulated two months of Bitcoin supply minted through mining activities in the first week of June alone.
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