Corporate Bitcoin holders ‘poised to explode’: Bitwise CIO
Matt Hougan told clients that MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin roadmap represents a “bona fide megatrend” poised to propel more companies into adopting BTC as a reserve asset.
Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan predicts a surge in the number of corporations adding Bitcoin (BTC) to their treasuries, driven by MicroStrategy’s influence and shifting regulatory headwinds in the U.S. under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
In a research note, Hougan said the success of spot BTC exchange-traded funds and increasing crypto adoption in the U.S. has helped dispel Bitcoin’s prior reputational risks.
Recent changes to accounting rules have provided additional incentives for firms considering adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets. In December, the Financial Accounting Standards Board introduced new reporting requirements under ASU 2023-08.
The updated rules allow institutions to mark down Bitcoin price slumps while also adjusting their disclosures when the price appreciates. This represents a notable shift from the previous rules, which required companies to treat Bitcoin as an intangible asset — meaning firms could only record price declines, with no provision for noting price increases.
If 70 companies were willing to add bitcoin to their balance sheets when, from an accounting perspective, it literally could only go down, imagine how many will add it to their balance sheet now. “Two hundred? Five hundred? A thousand?
Matt Hougan, Bitwise CIO
Hougan’s note was shared days before Trump’s swearing-in, scheduled for Jan. 20, and hours after MicroStrategy bolstered its BTC horde. Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy’s executive chairman, said the company holds around 450,000 BTC, which is valued north of $43 billion and plans to buy more.
In 2024, MicroStrategy spent $22 billion acquiring 258,320 BTC — more than the total 218,829 BTC produced by miners throughout the entire year. Saylor has indicated that his firm intends to acquire an additional $42 billion in Bitcoin, a sum that would account for nearly three years’ worth of newly mined BTC supply.
