Corporate Bitcoin Buying Surges 375% in 2025, Outpacing ETFs by 207%

Public companies have significantly ramped up their Bitcoin (BTC) purchases through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the first half of 2025, acquiring a total of 245,510 BTC. This amount is more than double the 118,424 BTC absorbed by ETFs during the same period. The year-to-date figure marks a 375% increase from the 51,653 BTC corporations acquired in the first half of 2024. In contrast, ETFs purchased 56% less BTC than they did a year earlier, when funds added 267,878 BTC during their launch-driven debut.

The underlying asset backing every ETF share means that fund creations reflect demand from retail investors, hedge funds, and registered investment advisers. Corporate treasury activity, on the other hand, represents direct strategic decisions made by management teams. The widening gap between corporate and ETF purchases signals an increasing conviction in Bitcoin’s reserve role among boardrooms, rivaling that of retail and institutional investors.

Strategy, a prominent player in the corporate Bitcoin acquisition space, accounted for 135,600 BTC of this year’s haul, equal to 55% of public-company buying. Within the same 2024 window, Strategy represented 72% of corporate acquisitions. The firm’s lower share in 2025 indicates that demand has broadened beyond a single bellwether.

Public companies purchased approximately 2.1 BTC for every coin that ETFs absorbed between January 1 and June 30. This shift suggests that corporations now view Bitcoin less as a speculative investment and more as a working capital reserve or long-term treasury asset. Boards have cited inflation hedging, cross-border liquidity, and brand alignment with digital finance as justifications for purchases. Some issuers also highlight accounting advantages: unlike cash, Bitcoin gains are not taxed until realized, while impairment charges reset the cost basis for future write-ups when coins are eventually sold.

Measured against market supply, corporate demand has grown from roughly 19% of ETF net intake in early 2024 to 207% six months later. This acceleration highlights a structural change in who absorbs newly mined coins. If the pace continues, public companies could emerge as Bitcoin’s dominant incremental buyer, tightening float and influencing price discovery more than pass-through fund flows.

Despite the sustained accumulation, analysts have warned that many companies finance purchases with convertible notes or other leverage. Citron Research, which disclosed a short position in Strategy in November, argued that the firm’s $2.6 billion debt sale had left its equity “detached from BTC fundamentals” and could pressure shareholders if prices fell. Similar critiques have highlighted the potential for balance sheet strain and dilution risk if Bitcoin experiences a sharp drawdown. While those concerns have not slowed buying so far in 2025, they remain part of the calculus as more treasuries weigh Bitcoin alongside traditional reserves.