Bitcoin Treasury Stocks Freeze Up: Majority Lose Value Over 18 Months

The majority of publicly traded companies that adopted a Bitcoin treasury strategy have lost money since their initial purchase announcement. Over the past 18 months, nearly 200 global companies with small market capitalizations hold BTC, but many have declined significantly in value. By late July 2025, every new BTC treasury stock was trading below its highest price of the year, with a median drawdown of -52%. The top 20 largest non-mining BTC treasury stocks show that 12 have negative returns, and five have lost more than half their starting value.

Companies like Fold Holdings, Exodus Movement, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), Semler, Metaplanet, Remixpoint, and Genius Group have all seen significant declines in value. Even the market leader, Strategy, has shed half of its common stock price over the past year. In contrast, companies with diversified business operations, such as Tesla (+59.8%) and Aker ASA (+182%), have outperformed due to reasons unrelated to BTC.

A study by Protos found that buying BTC with borrowed money and hoping the stock market would bid up the stock price has not proven to be a reliable strategy. The premium investors pay for these stocks has continued to fall over the past 18 months, indicating a lack of confidence in this investment approach.