Crypto-focused investment provider DeFi Technologies announced that it had bought 110 BTC for its corporate reserves on Friday – and the company’s stock price predictably pumped in the aftermath.
DeFi Technologies’ Bitcoin Strategy
The Canadian firm said in a press release on Monday that Bitcoin will now be its “primary treasury reserve asset” becoming the first Canadian public company amidst a growing list of global firms to do the same.
“Bitcoin is now a major asset class with a market value exceeding $1 trillion,” the company wrote. “DeFi Technologies believes it has unique characteristics as a scarce and finite asset, making it a reasonable hedge against inflation and a safe haven from monetary debasement.”
Similarly to the firms before it, DeFi Technologies’ stock – which trades on Cboe Canada under the DEFI ticker – surged 25% to CAD $220 at Monday’s close. Its market cap at the end of the day was $641 million.
Per the company’s website, DeFi Technologies provides “institutional grade exposure to digital assets through ETPs, strategic ventures, and critical Web3 infrastructure.” Valour, the firm’s subsidiary ETF provider, holds CAD $837 million (USD $607 million) in assets under management.
The company provides dozens of crypto ETPs, one of which includes a Bitcoin ETF that charges zero fees, and another that provides yield to investors of over 5% per year.
“Given the significant value gap between Bitcoin and other traditional assets, DeFi Technologies believes Bitcoin has the potential to generate outsized returns as it gains increasing acceptance,” the company added.
The Growing Corporate Bitcoin Standard
The company also owns Reflexivity Research – a crypto market intelligence firm founded by crypto influencers Anthony Pompliano and Will Clemente. In a Monday tweet, Pompliano confirmed that his company, Pomp Investments, remains an investor in DeFi Technologies and views the firm as undervalued.
Over the past two months, several firms besides the infamous MicroStrategy have chosen to adopt Bitcoin as its primary savings vehicle for excess cash, including US healthcare firm Semler Scientific and Japanese investment firm MetaPlanet.
MetaPlanet and Semler have both shown willingness to use capital markets to raise funds to buy even more BTC, rather than only using corporate profits. Thus far, DeFi Technologies appears to have no such plans.
MicroStrategy remains the largest corporate Bitcoin investor by a landslide, holding 214,400 BTC under management.