From Holding to Controlling Stake: When Bitcoin Starts "Buying Public Companies"

Author: Conflux

Bitcoin’s first entry into the capital structure of a publicly listed company as an “investment asset.”

On February 4th, Nasdaq-listed insurance brokerage Tianrui Xiang Holdings announced that an undisclosed investor will invest 15,000 Bitcoins in exchange for equity in the company. Based on the Bitcoin price of approximately $75,000 at the time, this investment’s nominal value is about $1.1 billion.

The announcement did not disclose specific details, but it has already achieved a historic breakthrough: Bitcoin, for the first time as an “investment asset,” has entered the equity structure of a Nasdaq-listed company.

This is not buying an ETF, not holding BTC, nor issuing bonds to buy coins. It is directly exchanging Bitcoin for company equity.

The Era of Bitcoin Treasury

Over the past two years, a profound change has been happening: Bitcoin is beginning to systematically enter the balance sheets of publicly listed companies.

Take Strategy as an example; it has completely changed the traditional operating logic of listed companies. It no longer makes money by selling software but has become a financial machine: continuously issuing stocks, convertible bonds, etc., converting financing into Bitcoin.

Legally, it is a Nasdaq-listed company;

Financially, it is more like a “Bitcoin asset amplifier”;

In the capital market, it has become a Bitcoin channel that is tradable directly without ETFs.

Japan’s Metaplanet, the US’s Twenty One Capital, and Bitcoin Standard Treasury are all following the same path as Strategy.

These companies have formed a new species — Bitcoin Treasury Companies.

The Listed Company Bitcoin Camp

As of now, the largest holders of Bitcoin among publicly listed companies worldwide have formed a massive camp:

• Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy): over 710,000 Bitcoins
• Major mining companies like MARA, Riot, Hut 8
• Trading platforms like Coinbase, Bullish
• Bitcoin treasury companies like Twenty One Capital, Metaplanet, Bitcoin Standard Treasury
• Even tech and payment companies like Tesla and Block

These companies share a common point: they have turned Bitcoin from an investment asset into a part of the company’s capital structure.

And that 15,000 Bitcoin transaction by Tianrui Xiang is a further leap in this development direction.

Reverse Mergers of Crypto Assets

If the deal is completed, Tianrui Xiang will hold 15,000 Bitcoins, surpassing US-based crypto exchange Coinbase, and become the eighth-largest Bitcoin treasury company in the world.

But its difference from Strategy, mining companies, and exchanges is: it is not “buying Bitcoin with fiat currency,” but more like using Bitcoin to “buy the shell of a Nasdaq-listed company.”

Under such a structure, this transaction no longer looks like an investment but more like a reverse merger of crypto assets into the traditional capital market.

Bitcoin is no longer just “held” by companies but is beginning to be used to restructure ownership itself.

From Strategy’s over 700,000 Bitcoins, to mining companies, exchanges, treasury companies, and now directly exchanging Bitcoin for company equity, a clear path has emerged: Bitcoin is reconstructing the “listed company network.”

When this system becomes large enough, Bitcoin will no longer be just a “cryptocurrency” but will evolve into a financial infrastructure embedded within the global system.

When enough listed companies take Bitcoin as the foundational layer of capital and ownership, Bitcoin will no longer be just a “cryptocurrency” but will become a financial infrastructure embedded within the global capital system.

The content of this article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. The market carries risks; invest cautiously.