Public Companies Are Amassing Bitcoin at a Record-Breaking Rate

With forecasts suggesting even wider business adoption, public firms are amassing Bitcoin at a record-breaking rate. By the end of 2026

Publicly traded firms are amassing Bitcoin at a record-breaking rate, with even wider business adoption being suggested by forecasts. By the end of 2026, publicly traded companies may have between 2 and 3 million Bitcoin, according to David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine.

Highlighting the increasing momentum, Bailey pointed out that Bitcoin treasury strategy announcements are happening nearly every week, and he anticipates that this rhythm will soon change to every day.

“We're now seeing nearly weekly announcements of new Bitcoin treasury strategies by public companies. Soon it will be daily. It feels like forever ago that I was saying 1k public orgs will buy. We're almost there. Expect to see companies from many industries & major stock indices using various financial products to gain exposure to the top cryptocurrency.

At present, the total amount of Bitcoin held by publicly traded firms surpasses 700,000. Considering two possible growth scenarios, Bailey predicts that if the price of Bitcoin stays mostly unchanged, he anticipates that ownership would reach one million Bitcoin by the end of 2025. However, if Bitcoin experiences a rebound and liquidity increases, he believes that public firms might accumulate between 2 and 3 million BTC by the end of 2026.

“My thinking is that if the price stays largely the same, we'll likely end 2025 around 1M Bitcoin with a few institutions holding over 50k+ BTC. But if liquidity increases and we get a rebound in the price, I think we could see institutions holding 2M-3M Bitcoin by the end of 2026. It's heating up. 🔥🔥🔥,” he stated.

The prediction is supported by data from Bitwise, which showed a 16.11% rise in the number of listed companies holding Bitcoin in Q1 2025. Due to 12 new arrivals, the total number of businesses with Bitcoin on their balance sheets increased to 79, a 17.91% increase from the previous quarter.

This surge is largely attributed to a new Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) rule that permits businesses to value their Bitcoin holdings at fair market value, as explained by Bitwise. This adjustment makes storing digital assets more financially appealing to corporate treasuries.

Leading Business Bitcoin Owners

After recently purchasing 6,556 BTC for $555.8 million, MicroStrategy, under the leadership of Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, is still the highest corporate holder with 538,200 BTC. The company has invested $36.47 billion in total, with an average acquisition price of $67,766 per Bitcoin.

Among other significant public holdings are cryptocurrency mining companies MARA Holdings (47,600 BTC), Riot Platforms (19,223 BTC), CleanSpark (11,869 BTC), and electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla (11,509 BTC).