On Dec. 30, 2024, an education tech company, Genius Group Ltd, bought $10 million worth of Bitcoin. The company aims to convert 90% of its funds to BTC. Lately, more and more companies around the world have chosen Bitcoin as the prime asset in the corporate treasury.

Genius Group Bitcoin reserve

While many countries are working on strategic Bitcoin reserve proposals, private and public companies purchase bitcoins to create their corporate treasuries. Over one million bitcoins are held in corporate treasuries of private and public companies.

Genius Group Limited is a Singapore-based AI-powered education and acceleration company boasting over 5.4 million students around the world. One of the rare characteristics of this company is its Bitcoin-first approach, suggesting that most of the company’s funds (90%) must be held in BTC. 

On Dec. 30, 2024, Genius Group announced it acquired $10 million worth of Bitcoin. Thus, the company raised its Bitcoin holdings by 50%. The total amount of cryptocurrency acquired by Genius Group reached 319.4 BTC.

Following the move, the Genius Group stock price saw an 11% surge, and that’s far from being the only gain after the bitcoinization of the company’s reserves. The Bitcoin-first strategy was announced on November 12, 2024. The Q4 2024 Bitcoin yield is estimated at 1,649%. According to Genius Group CEO Roger Hamilton, the company will explore various options to maximize shareholder value.

Genius Group switched to a Bitcoin Treasury Key Performance Indicator as the company management believes that the Bitcoin Standard will be beneficial both for the company and its shareholders. The Bitcoin Treasury KPI indicates if the company’s market cap is above or below the value of its Bitcoin reserves. 

The Genius Group provided crypto.news a commentary in which they explained the company’s dedication to Bitcoin:

“We believe a new type of future-focused, AI-driven, blockchain-based public listed companies can bridge the divide for investors between the current, centralized and regulated world of NYSE, NASDAQ and other stock markets with the future promise of decentralized, exponential economies. Genius Group’s unique position of already educating for the future gives us an opportunity to bring a layer of added value through education, where we prepare the next generation for a world in which how they earn and learn are dramatically different.

The Genius management team believes that with the rise of AGI and the ongoing need for sound money, that Bitcoin was a clear choice for a treasury asset to preserve and grow long-term shareholder value. Being a Singapore-incorporated company, with 0% capital gains tax, gives us an additional advantage in our Bitcoin-first strategy.”

Addressing the question of how does Genius Group time the market to acquire Bitcoin, the company responded: 

“As fundamental believers in the long-term potential of Bitcoin, we don’t try to time the market, but rather buy and hold with the intention of never selling.”

Acquisition of hundreds of bitcoins attracted much attention to Genius Group Ltd., although the company is far from being a pioneering company to do so. As the crypto market started to grow in November 2024 and the pro-crypto narratives intensified in all kinds of media, many public and private companies began to switch to Bitcoin Standard. They create corporate Bitcoin reserves and start to estimate its value in bitcoins on par with more traditional assets like the American dollar. One of the latest examples is the Thumzup media. Reportedly, it strives to hold 90% of its liquid assets in Bitcoin and spent $1 million on bitcoins on January 9, 2025.

As of Jan. 6, 2024, Coingecko names 32 public companies holding bitcoins. Bitcoin Treasuries tool provides over 70 public companies that hold bitcoins. Tesla was among the first companies whose decision to set a Bitcoin reserve sparked the market, boosting the BTC price in 2021. Since then, other companies have become more prominent in making headlines associated with huge Bitcoin acquisitions. 

MicroStrategy is without doubt the top company associated with consistent growth of corporate BTC holdings and sheer amounts of purchased bitcoins. At nearly 450,000 BTC, it holds over 2.1% of the total Bitcoin supply. Marathon Digital Holdings occupies the second position with over 26k BTC. Other leaders include Galaxy Digital Holdings, Tesla Inc., Riot Platforms Inc., and many others. According to Bitcoin Treasuries, over 20 public companies hold over 1,000 BTC each. The same source indicates eight private companies with 1,000+ Bitcoin units in corporate treasuries. The leading company is Block.one with 164k BTC. Tether Holdings Limited follows with 83k BTC.

The trend is only visible because it contrasts with the mainstream corporate approach to cryptocurrencies–most companies still prefer to stay away from Bitcoin or approach it with caution. For instance, Microsoft shareholders were deciding whether the company should add Bitcoin to its balance sheets. The majority of shareholders voted against the proposal. The reason for the decline of the Bitcoin proposal was that the company is already doing pretty well and investing in a volatile asset, although a lucrative one, may only make the investment potential of Microsoft less predictable for shareholders. Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy referred to Microsoft’s refusal to add Bitcoin to the company’s balance sheet as “destruction of capital.”

There are many ways to explain why companies may need these bitcoins. First off, Bitcoin reserves serve as a hedge against inflation. If BlackRock advises allocating up to 2% of funds in Bitcoin, why not follow this advice? In terms of publicity, Bitcoin reserves can amplify the company’s progressive image and attract more attention in the crypto community. Finally, in the bull market, acquiring BTC may be seen as an effort to quickly boost the company’s budget without having to produce, promote, or improve anything. However, feasibility of investing much of the company’s assets in Bitcoin can be questioned as some experts warn about soon market trend reversal.