Bitcoin corporate demand plunges as treasuries buy just $451M in Q3

Corporate treasuries, once the loudest buyers in the bitcoin market, have gone quiet. Publicly traded companies added roughly 5,900 bitcoin over the past three months, a slowdown so sharp it raises real questions about where the next leg of bitcoin corporate demand is supposed to come from. At a spot price near $76,400, that purchase is worth about $451 million — a respectable sum on paper, but a fraction of what the same cohort was buying a year ago.

Key takeaways

• Publicly traded companies bought about 5,900 BTC in three months, worth roughly $451 million at a spot price near $76,400.
• Nasdaq-listed Strategy (MSTR) drove most of that activity, adding 4,603 BTC for $370 million at an average price of $80,318, according to The Motley Fool.
• A year earlier, corporate treasuries bought more than 100,000 BTC in the same three-month window, including 89,000 BTC in July 2025 alone.
• The Corporate Treasury Cost Basis sits near $80,500 per BTC, about 6% above spot, meaning the group as a whole is underwater, according to Glassnode.
• U.S. bitcoin ETFs have pulled in billions since early August but remain roughly $1 billion short of a positive year-to-date total, per SoSoValue.

Sharp Decline in Corporate Bitcoin Buying

The numbers tell a story of retreat rather than accumulation. Corporate treasuries bought over 5,900 BTC in the last three months, and that figure looks thin compared with the same stretch a year earlier, when bitcoin was still trading above $100,000 and companies were adding coins by the tens of thousands.

Strategy’s Role in Recent Purchases

Nasdaq-listed Strategy (MSTR) accounted for most of the recent buying. After a summer spent quietly selling, the firm returned to the market in late August, adding 4,603 BTC over three weeks for a total of $370 million at an average price of $80,318 per coin, according to The Motley Fool. That single purchase made up the bulk of the sector-wide 5,900-BTC total.

Yet the broader picture is less bullish than the headline buy suggests. Strategy’s own filings show its holdings unchanged at 845,050 BTC, worth about $65.7 billion, for a second straight week as of mid-September, after the firm repurchased $139.3 million of its STRC preferred shares rather than touching its bitcoin position, according to The Block.

Comparison to 2025 Buying Levels

Set against last year’s pace, the slowdown becomes starker. Corporate treasuries added more than 100,000 BTC over the same three-month period a year earlier, including 89,000 coins in July 2025 alone — a haul worth more than $8.9 billion at the time, exceeding the market capitalization of most cryptocurrencies outside the top 15. The recent 5,900-BTC purchase amounts to less than 7% of that single month’s total from a year ago.

Corporate Treasury Bitcoin Holdings and Cost Basis

Despite the pullback in fresh buying, public companies still control a substantial slice of bitcoin’s total supply — but much of that stack is sitting on paper losses at current prices.

Total Holdings Across Public Companies

According to the Bitcoin Treasuries data source, listed companies collectively hold roughly 1.22 million BTC spread across 181 firms, with Strategy far outpacing all others by holding 845,050 BTC, a stake representing more than 4% of the 21 million bitcoin supply cap. Tokyo-listed Metaplanet ranks among the next-largest corporate stacks tracked in the sector.

Underwater Position of Corporate Treasuries

The cost basis tells the real story. Glassnode said corporate treasuries were “a big buyer through 2025, and they have stepped back.” The firm added that “their average entry, the Corporate Treasury Cost Basis, sits at $80.5K, about 6% above spot, so the group as a whole is under water.” Strategy itself illustrates the swing: its total acquisition cost sits at $63.7 billion against an average purchase price of $75,412 per coin, implying roughly $2 billion in paper gains at current prices — a much thinner margin than the firm enjoyed at earlier stages of its buying campaign. The company’s enterprise mNAV, a market-cap-to-net-asset-value gauge, has fallen to 1.1, and MSTR shares remain down around 71% from their 2025 peak.

Mixed Institutional and Retail Demand Signals

Corporate treasuries are just one piece of the demand puzzle, and the other pieces aren’t painting a much rosier picture. Several indicators point to tepid appetite from both institutional and retail buyers.

U.S.-Listed Bitcoin ETFs and Market Inflows

U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs have attracted billions of dollars since early August, a sign of some rebound in institutional demand. Even so, according to data source SoSoValue, those funds remain roughly $1 billion short of turning positive on a year-to-date basis — a reminder that the recent inflows are still working to offset earlier outflows rather than adding fresh net demand.

Coinbase Premium Indicator and Stablecoin Supply Trends

The Coinbase premium indicator, which measures the price gap between the U.S.-based exchange and offshore platform Binance, has stayed mostly negative since May, according to CoinGlass data, aside from a brief flip into positive territory on Sept. 5. A negative reading means bitcoin trades at a discount on Coinbase relative to Binance, suggesting U.S. buyers have shown weaker demand than traders elsewhere.

Total stablecoin supply, which analysts use as a rough proxy for new fiat capital entering crypto, has remained largely flat this year, hovering between $300 billion and $310 billion. That supply has stayed stagnant even through bitcoin’s mid-August rally, suggesting that fresh capital flowing into the market through stablecoins remains tepid at best.

Price Resistance and Market Implications

Taken together, these signals point to a market where price gains aren’t being matched by proportional demand from the buyers who drove much of 2025’s rally. Corporate treasuries pulled back from a pace of tens of thousands of coins per month to a fraction of that. ETF inflows are recovering but haven’t erased the year’s losses. Stablecoin supply hasn’t budged even as prices moved.

What a Reclaim of $80,500 Could Mean

The $80,500 level carries particular weight because it marks the average entry point for the entire corporate treasury cohort. Bitcoin topped that level recently but failed to hold the gain. Glassnode noted that “a reclaim of $80.5K would put the treasuries back in profit and remove one layer of overhead supply,” adding that “until then their entry is one more ceiling.” In practice, that means every rally toward $80,500 runs into a pool of underwater holders who may be more inclined to sell into strength than to keep accumulating — one more hurdle standing between current prices and a renewed push higher.

FAQ

How much bitcoin have publicly traded companies bought recently?

Over the last three months, publicly traded firms grew their bitcoin holdings by only about 5,900 coins, marking a considerable deceleration compared to the same period a year prior.

Which company accounted for most of the recent corporate bitcoin purchases?

Nasdaq-listed Strategy (MSTR) accounted for most of the recent buying, including a late-August purchase of 4,603 BTC.

Are corporate bitcoin holdings currently profitable at present prices?

Corporate treasury cost basis averages $80,500 per BTC, about 6% above current spot price, so the group as a whole is underwater.

What do the Coinbase premium and stablecoin supply indicate about bitcoin demand?

The Coinbase premium indicator has mostly been negative since May, signaling weaker U.S. demand, while stablecoin supply has been largely flat this year, indicating tepid new fiat capital inflows.

Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.