Frequently Asked Questions

A Bitcoin Treasury Company is a business that has adopted bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset and actively pursues ongoing accumulation as a core part of its corporate strategy. These companies target and report on bitcoin-specific performance metrics like Bitcoin Per Share (BPS) and mNAV, and they often fund acquisitions through equity offerings, convertible debt, or Digital Credit instruments.

Bitcoin Treasury Companies are distinct from companies that simply hold bitcoin in their treasury without explicitly targeting or reporting on bitcoin accumulation metrics. BitcoinTreasuries.NET tracks both categories across hundreds of companies and dozens of countries.

Companies add bitcoin to their treasury for a variety of reasons, though most cite some combination of the following:

• Protection against inflation and currency debasement. As central banks expand money supplies, bitcoin's fixed supply of 21 million makes it an attractive alternative to cash reserves that lose purchasing power over time.

• Strategic optionality. Bitcoin can be sent and received globally, is liquid across all major currencies, and can be self-custodied without reliance on banks or intermediaries. These attributes offer a dimension of financial sovereignty and optionality that traditional treasury assets do not.

• Market opportunity. A bitcoin treasury strategy gives companies access to a growing base of customers, investors, and capital market actors who are actively seeking bitcoin exposure and participation.

• Long-term value appreciation. With a hard cap of 21 million and growing adoption from individuals, businesses, and governments, bitcoin's supply-demand dynamics are unlike any traditional reserve asset.

Digital Credit is an asset class of income-generating securities backed by bitcoin. Issuers of digital credit hold reserves of bitcoin and issue preferred equity instruments against that collateral, creating structured products that offer investors varying degrees of yield, price stability, and opportunity.

The model is designed to take in capital, grow bitcoin reserves, and denominate distribution obligations in depreciating fiat currencies at rates set well below bitcoin's historic compound annual growth rate. Stability and yield are metered through at-the-market equity issuances, adjustable-rate dividends, seniority provisions, and other structural features designed to deliver products that meet the risk, return, and income expectations of different investor markets. Notably, Digital Credit instruments allow issuers to raise capital and grow Bitcoin Per Share even when mNAV is at or below 1.0, expanding the toolkit beyond what common equity issuances alone can support.

The most prominent Digital Credit instruments today include Strategy's STRC, STRF, STRD, and STRK, as well as Strive's SATA. Each product sits at a different point in the capital stack with its own trade-offs across yield, volatility, opportunity, and seniority. Track live data on our Digital Credit Dashboard or explore deeper analytics on our Data Playground. Read more on Digital Credit.

mNAV (market cap to net asset value) compares a bitcoin treasury company's market valuation to the value of its bitcoin holdings. A company at 1.1 mNAV means investors are paying $1.10 for every $1.00 of bitcoin on the balance sheet, whereas a company at 0.9 is trading at a discount, which could signal concern or opportunity depending on context. While mNAV is one of the most important valuation tools in this space, it is not the only metric that matters.

There are different ways to calculate mNAV, and the choice of method can meaningfully change the result:

• mNAV Basic: Market cap divided by bitcoin holdings value, with no adjustment for dilution.

• mNAV Diluted: Adjusts for convertible notes, warrants, options, and other securities that could increase share count.

• mNAV EV (Enterprise Value): Adds debt and preferred stock, subtracts cash, capturing the full capital structure.

The same company can appear to trade at a discount on a basic basis and a premium on an EV basis, so knowing which version you are looking at matters. For a deeper explanation, read more on mNAV.

Bitcoin Per Share (BPS) measures how much bitcoin is attributable to each share of a company's stock, typically calculated on a fully diluted basis that accounts for convertible notes, warrants, and options. It is a core metric by which bitcoin treasury companies are judged, as growing BPS over time means each share represents greater bitcoin exposure for shareholders, which is the fundamental objective of the strategy.

BPS stands in contrast to conventional fiat-denominated metrics like earnings per share or share price. A bitcoin treasury company's actions can increase BPS while simultaneously decreasing the fiat share price, which is an outcome that is accretive to shareholders since success is denominated in bitcoin terms. Companies can grow BPS through accretive capital raises, operational cash flow, mining, or any combination of strategies, but the outcome of more bitcoin per share over time is what counts. A related metric, "bitcoin yield," tracks the percentage change in BPS over a given period and is often used as a headline KPI. For more detail, read more on BPS.

Bitcoin ETFs are passive investment vehicles that hold bitcoin and trade on stock exchanges, giving investors price exposure that closely tracks the spot price. An arbitrage mechanism keeps ETF prices tightly aligned with the value of the underlying bitcoin.

Bitcoin treasury companies work differently. They are active businesses that raise capital through a range of instruments including equity offerings, convertible debt, preferred securities, Digital Credit or simply operating cash flows to acquire bitcoin and grow Bitcoin Per Share over time. Because they are not constrained to simply tracking bitcoin's price, treasury companies can use available markets and instruments to offer investors amplified exposure to bitcoin's price action, to both the upside and the downside. Their stock prices can trade at significant premiums or discounts to the value of their bitcoin holdings, reflecting the market's view of the company's strategy, management, and capital structure.

Multiple national and state-level governments hold bitcoin, whether through law enforcement seizures, strategic reserve policies, or direct purchases. BitcoinTreasuries.NET tracks government bitcoin holdings on our dedicated governments page with detailed acquisition data and source documentation across dozens of countries and government entities.

The simplest approach is using free cash flow and retained earnings from the company's operations. Many companies start here, allocating surplus cash to bitcoin rather than holding it exclusively in traditional reserves.

Beyond that, bitcoin treasury companies use a range of capital markets tools to acquire more bitcoin. At-the-market (ATM) equity offerings allow new shares to be sold at prevailing market prices with minimal friction. Convertible debt gives the company access to capital now that may later convert into equity at predetermined terms. Preferred stock issuances, including Digital Credit instruments issued by Strategy and Strive, offer another funding path. Some companies also generate bitcoin directly through mining operations.

The choice of method has a direct impact on existing shareholders. Issuances made when mNAV is high tend to be accretive, growing Bitcoin Per Share. Issuances made when mNAV is low can be dilutive, reducing each share's effective exposure.

STRC (Stretch) is Strategy's variable-rate perpetual preferred security, backed by the company's bitcoin reserves and designed to trade near its $100 par value. Price stability is maintained by adjusting the monthly dividend rate and through new share issuance via an at-the-market program. When shares are sold, the capital raised is used to purchase bitcoin, growing Strategy's reserve. Yield distributions are denominated in depreciating fiat currency at a rate set well below bitcoin's historic compound annual growth rate.

STRC acts as a high-yield alternative to traditional cash instruments, over-collateralized by digital capital (bitcoin), offering investors relative price stability and monthly yield with beneficial tax treatment where applicable. It launched in mid-2025 and has become one of the most notable securities in the emerging Digital Credit space.

You can track STRC's live yield, price, and trading volume on the Digital Credit Dashboard or view detailed analytics on our Data Playground. For the full suite of Strategy's preferred securities, visit the pages for STRF, STRD, and STRK.

Accretive dilution occurs when a bitcoin treasury company issues new shares and uses the proceeds to buy bitcoin in a way that increases Bitcoin Per Share for shareholders. Because a company's share price and the price of bitcoin move independently, a divergence can emerge between what the market is paying per share and the bitcoin value the balance sheet holds per share. When the market values the company above its net bitcoin holdings (a premium to mNAV) it can sell newly issued shares to buy bitcoin. While this dilutes shareholders and can suppress the fiat share price, the result is more bitcoin per share: accretive in bitcoin terms. This is known as "capturing the spread". If the company trades at a discount to mNAV, the same action would be destructive dilution.

A premium to mNAV can persist because stocks are priced on future expectations, bitcoin is scarce, and large capital pools seek exposure to hard-asset-backed balance sheets. A company that proves it can accumulate bitcoin consistently may be valued at the future worth of its anticipated holdings, sustaining the premium and the ability to keep capturing the spread.

A collapse in the mNAV premium, particularly during downturns, can close the accretion window and create pressure if obligations come due below 1.0x mNAV. Larger bitcoin treasury companies generally have more tools to navigate these conditions, and the space tends toward winner-takes-most outcomes.