Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin treasury corporations are publicly traded companies that strategically acquire and manage substantial reserves of Bitcoin. They are signaling a new era where digital assets play a significant role in corporate balance sheets.
- Twenty One Capital, Strive Asset Management, Nakamoto Holdings, and Vault Ventures are leading this trend with unique approaches and major capital raises.
- These companies also engage in lending, venture investments, and Bitcoin advocacy, aiming to create multifaceted financial ecosystems.
- While offering exposure to Bitcoin’s growth through stocks, these firms face regulatory scrutiny, integration challenges, and the risks of pioneering this model.
It’s easy to picture Wall Street’s familiar skyline—glass towers reflecting the hustle below. Yet, a fresh cast of players has arrived: Bitcoin treasury corporations. These are publicly traded corporations whose sole mission is to gather Bitcoin like an army of digital prospectors.
They won’t dabble in decentralized apps or launch cryptocurrency exchanges. These companies function as specialized financial institutions, prioritizing the acquisition and custody of Bitcoin. Their revenue models often include charging fees for secure storage and management of Bitcoin assets. This approach marks a departure from conventional strategies, positioning Bitcoin not as a peripheral investment but as the primary asset on their balance sheets.
This article profiles five such companies—Twenty One, Strive Asset Management, Nakamoto Holdings, Vault Ventures, and Cantor Equity Partners—each backed by ambitious sponsors, complex structures, and lofty Bitcoin ambitions.
5 Bitcoin Treasury Corporations Shaking up Wall Street
Each company on this list has adopted a unique approach to building substantial Bitcoin treasuries, which has attracted the attention of investors and analysts.
Twenty One (CEP) – Chairman & CEO: Brandon Lutnick
Twenty One envisions a company deeply integrated with Bitcoin from its inception. To realize this ambition and access public markets, the entity pursued a common strategy for emerging, data-centric businesses: a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) merger.
Initially, Cantor Equity Partners (CEP on Nasdaq), a blank check company led by Brandon Lutnick, stepped up. Brandon, incidentally, is the son of Howard Lutnick, the current US Commerce Secretary. Following the established SPAC playbook, CEP raised capital to merge with a promising private company.
In April 2025, Cantor Equity Partners announced its merger with a newly formed entity, Twenty One Capital, Inc. When completed, this move will launch Twenty One as a publicly traded “Bitcoin-native” company, expected to trade under the ticker symbol XXI on the Nasdaq. The leadership torch for Twenty One will pass to Jack Mallers, a well-known figure in the Bitcoin world as the CEO of Strike, a Bitcoin payments company. This appointment signals a deep commitment to Bitcoin principles.
Treasury Size, Strategy, and Bitcoin-Centric Focus
Twenty One isn’t starting small. The company expects to launch with an impressive treasury of over 42,000 Bitcoin. This immediately positions it as one of the largest corporate Bitcoin holders globally. Powerful backers, including stablecoin issuer Tether, crypto exchange Bitfinex, and the investment giant SoftBank, are involved, injecting significant capital and credibility. To bolster its Bitcoin reserves further, Twenty One is raising substantial funds – $385 million through convertible senior notes and an additional $200 million via a private investment in public equity (PIPE). This fresh capital is earmarked primarily for acquiring more Bitcoin.
Lutnick and his leadership team boast a mix of Wall Street and crypto credentials. Twenty One’s ambitions extend beyond simple accumulation. The company plans to actively accelerate Bitcoin adoption at corporate and even sovereign levels. This involves developing media operations focused on Bitcoin education and advocacy.
Additionally, they intend to offer Bitcoin-related financial and advisory services, effectively building an ecosystem around their core treasury. Their strategy introduces innovative metrics like “Bitcoin Per Share” (BPS) and “Bitcoin Return Rate” (BRR), emphasizing their Bitcoin-denominated focus rather than traditional fiat-based earnings. Ultimately, Twenty One aims to be a singular vehicle for investors seeking Bitcoin exposure, pro-Bitcoin advocacy, and Bitcoin-focused financial innovation.
Strive Asset Management (ASST) – CEO: Matt Cole
Strive Asset Management, based in Dallas, emerged in 2022 under the vision of entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, best known for his bold biotech ventures. Rather than urging operating companies to pledge Bitcoin, Strive pursued a more direct path: becoming the first asset manager entirely dedicated to Bitcoin accumulation. To do so, it merged with Asset Entities (NASDAQ: ASST), a dormant public shell.
On May 27, 2025, Strive completed a $750 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal at $1.35 per share, coupled with $750 million in warrants exercisable at the same price. This funding, potentially totaling $1.5 billion, lays the foundation for Strive’s mission: to hold Bitcoin and actively outperform it. Leading this charge is CEO Matt Cole, supported by Ramaswamy’s strategic input and a board of seasoned professionals from biotech and finance.
Strategy, Tax Innovation, and Investor Appeal
Strive’s strategy is anything but passive. Its proprietary approach includes acquiring discounted Bitcoin credit tranches and distressed claims, such as those linked to the Mt. Gox collapse, along with acquiring undervalued, cash-rich public companies and converting their reserves to Bitcoin. In a notable twist, Strive plans to operate without debt, enhancing financial agility for opportunistic acquisitions or institutional lending. These methods set it apart from firms that merely buy and hold Bitcoin.
Another innovative feature is Strive’s use of Section 351 of the US tax code, which lets accredited Bitcoin holders exchange BTC for equity in Strive on a potentially tax-deferred basis. This could attract significant inflows from Bitcoin holders seeking exposure to a publicly traded vehicle with an active accumulation mandate.
Beyond the tactics, Strive also intends to wield its shareholder voting power to push for Bitcoin adoption at other companies, arguing that a Bitcoin treasury strategy maximizes long-term shareholder value. This dual role, asset manager and Bitcoin advocate, embodies Strive’s conviction that Bitcoin is more than an asset: it’s a new economic foundation.
While Strive’s precise Bitcoin holdings will remain undisclosed until its first quarterly report, insiders expect it to start with around 50,000 BTC funded by the PIPE proceeds. Monthly updates will detail accumulation, average prices, and custody arrangements, with reputable custodians providing insurance coverage.
With Ramaswamy’s media influence spotlighting Strive’s progress, ASST offers a novel, asset manager-led Bitcoin play for investors. In a financial world awash in indexes, Strive’s focus is clear: benchmark performance not against stocks, but against its growing Bitcoin stack.
Nakamoto Holdings (NAKA) – CEO: David Bailey
Nakamoto Holdings has joined the wave of Bitcoin-native corporations on Wall Street through a reverse merger with KindlyMD, a telehealth firm. This move marks the creation of the first public conglomerate focused on Bitcoin-native businesses. Announced in May 2025, the transaction raised an impressive $510 million via a private investment in public equity (PIPE) and an additional $200 million in convertible notes, reportedly the largest capital raise to date for any publicly listed crypto-related initiative.
David Bailey, a well-known Bitcoin advocate and founder of BTC Inc. and UTXO, now leads Nakamoto as CEO. But Nakamoto’s ambitions extend far beyond simply holding Bitcoin on its balance sheet. The company plans to build a diversified ecosystem: custody services, lending desks, media platforms, and advisory firms, all powered by its Bitcoin treasury. Demonstrating early commitment to this vision, Nakamoto allocated $8.75 million from the deal proceeds to acquire 21 BTC—an early move reinforcing its treasury-driven model.
Ecosystem Model, Investment Strategy, and Outlook
Trading under KindlyMD’s new Nasdaq ticker “NAKA,” Nakamoto Holdings has immediate access to public capital markets. The leadership team features blockchain developers and former Wall Street regulators, combining deep technical knowledge with regulatory experience. The company intends to direct about 80% of its capital to direct Bitcoin purchases, 10% to venture investments in Bitcoin-native startups, and 10% to strategic acquisitions to bolster its ecosystem.
Security and regulatory compliance are at the forefront of Nakamoto’s operations. The company partners with regulated trust companies and underwriters to safeguard its Bitcoin reserves, which are placed in multisignature vaults insured against cyberattacks and theft. In parallel, Nakamoto’s lending division plans to provide Bitcoin-backed loans to institutional clients, aiming for annual yields above 3%. These combined services, custody, lending, and consulting, could generate fee income, adding another layer of revenue beyond just Bitcoin’s appreciation.
NAKA presents a compelling proposition for investors: exposure to Bitcoin’s growth potential plus participation in a full-fledged Bitcoin-focused ecosystem. However, integrating acquisitions and managing diverse subsidiaries carries inherent execution risks. Regulatory scrutiny is another factor regarding whether Nakamoto’s various businesses might be classified as Bitcoin-linked securities rather than standalone corporate assets.
Nonetheless, David Bailey’s track record in growing Bitcoin businesses lends credibility to Nakamoto’s leadership. With plans for monthly updates, shareholders will be watching closely to see whether this ecosystem strategy can outperform simpler models that focus solely on Bitcoin accumulation. Nakamoto’s emergence on the Nasdaq signals a bold bet on Bitcoin not just as a financial asset, but as the foundation for an entirely new corporate paradigm.
Vault Ventures PLC (VULT) – CEO: Chandila Fernando
Vault Ventures PLC, listed on the Aquis Stock Exchange (AQSE: VULT), is a London-based technology firm operating at the intersection of fintech and blockchain. Under the leadership of CEO Chandila Fernando, the company has adopted an increasingly crypto-native approach to treasury management, allocating capital directly into digital assets.
Digital Asset Allocation as Treasury Backbone
Rather than taking a passive stance, Vault Ventures has pursued targeted acquisitions of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana as part of a broader strategy to integrate blockchain exposure into its balance sheet. Its latest reported purchases include 1.72146 BTC at an average price of $116,760.89 per coin, bringing total Bitcoin holdings to 3.79752 BTC.
As of July 2025, Bitcoin comprises 16.27% of Vault’s digital asset treasury, reflecting a measured but deliberate move toward establishing Bitcoin as a long-term reserve asset.
While Vault Ventures maintains a diversified cryptocurrency portfolio, its steady accumulation of Bitcoin signals a growing institutional alignment with the asset’s role as a foundational digital commodity. The company continues to deploy capital in line with its thesis that blockchain-based assets can play a strategic role in early-stage technology investment.
Cantor Equity Partners I SPAC (Nasdaq) – Chairman & CEO: Brandon Lutnick
Cantor Equity Partners, a Nasdaq-listed special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) affiliated with Cantor Fitzgerald, is set to complete a landmark $4B transaction expanding its Bitcoin holdings. This marks its second major Bitcoin-related move in 2025, reinforcing Wall Street’s advancing involvement in direct digital asset acquisition.
Strategic Bitcoin Acquisition via SPAC Structure
Cantor Equity Partners I, a Nasdaq-listed SPAC affiliated with Cantor Fitzgerald, entered into a landmark agreement with Blockstream founder Adam Back, involving the transfer of up to 30,000 BTC in exchange for equity. The entity, rebranded as BSTR Holdings, also secured plans to raise hundreds of millions in additional capital for further Bitcoin purchases.
This structure reflects a broader trend in which institutional investors pursue direct Bitcoin ownership through SPACs rather than ETFs, seeking balance sheet exposure to digital assets. Cantor’s approach builds on earlier acquisitions through its merger with Twenty One Capital.
The involvement of figures like Adam Back, whose early contributions to Bitcoin’s technical foundations are widely recognized, underscores the increasing intersection between crypto-native leadership and traditional finance, reinforcing Bitcoin’s position as a strategic asset in institutional portfolios.
Closing Thoughts
Bitcoin-native corporations are no longer hypothetical. They’re raising billions, listing on major exchanges, and shifting how public markets think about balance sheets. Each company, Twenty One, Strive, and Nakamoto, offers its own strategy, from pure accumulation to activist investing and full-stack ecosystems. But they share one trait: a belief that Bitcoin is not just worth holding, it’s worth building around
