Corporate buyers for Bitcoin (BTC) have entered a streak, as the leading coin’s price is close to record levels. This time, Semler Scientific announced its latest purchase of 303 BTC.
Semler Scientific is rising in the ranks of corporate buyers. As Bitcoin (BTC) set new records above $104,000, Semler Scientific announced its latest purchase. Announcements of corporate buying are made after the fact but still work to support the market sentiment.
The company has taken up the model of buying BTC to achieve yield for its shareholders. Semler Scientific used its own cashflows to acquire a bigger BTC treasury. The company has also considered issuing debt or convertible bonds to acquire more BTC.
After the latest purchase, BTC retained its new level for the day at $102,597.80. Semler Scientific’s purchase is relatively small compared to the latest additions of MicroStrategy and Mara Holdings but still signals a readiness for building bigger corporate treasuries. In the past four weeks, fundraising and BTC purchases accelerated, turning into a staple for boosting BTC sentiment. The latest MicroStrategy purchase happened as BTC dipped under $90,000, before continuing to its record rally.
Unlike passive holders like Tesla, Inc., Semler Scientific also aims for yield for its shareholders, hinging on BTC’s appreciation. Semler Scientific is on track to join the top 10 corporate holders. Long-term predictions see almost all big companies adding some BTC to their treasuries.
Semler Scientific was formerly a medical technology company but pivoted to crypto ownership in May. The company has built up a relatively small treasury of 1,873 BTC. After the latest purchase, Semler Scientific achieved a cost basis of $78,553 per BTC.
The latest purchase was completed at an average price of $96,779 per BTC. The new addition follows purchases by MicroStrategy and Mara Holdings, expanding the trend of yield-bearing BTC treasuries. Semler Scientific has achieved a higher yield of 54.7% to date.
Semler Scientific is a relatively late arrival to the BTC buying game and has a higher cost basis. The rising BTC price, however, is not slowing down corporate buying. Instead, most of the top 20 corporate holders have updated their treasuries in the past few days.
Semler Scientific is one of the few entrants from outside the selection of mining companies. Backed by BlackRock and Vanguard, the company did not hesitate to raise another $50M share sale in November, in preparation for more BTC purchases.
The recent corporate buying spree is adding to the bullish sentiment of the latest BTC rally. While the purchases are not gigantic on the scale of traditional finance, they are creating a supply crunch for BTC. Easily available BTC for big transfers are becoming scarce, as more large entities are holding their coins closely.
The recent corporate reserves combine with ETF buying and holding to create a new category of BTC owners. On-chain data shows whales hold a relatively small amount of BTC. On the other hand, as a whole, corporate owners are advancing in their control over the supply of 21M coins.
In total, BTC in the hands of corporations, ETF, and large-scale government holdings, already covers 13.60% of all BTC. That scale of holding of more than 2.8M BTC already surpassed the miner reserves of 1.91M BTC.
Elsewhere, El Salvador keeps buying more Bitcoin. The Government is holding Bitcoin (BTC) worth over $610.5 million. The country, which became the world’s first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, has seen its cryptocurrency portfolio surge in value as BTC broke through the $100,000 barrier on December 5.
Bitcoin’s rally to six figures comes after a year of sustained growth and favorable macroeconomic factors, coupled with Donald Trump’s recent US presidential elections victory. As of the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading a little over $101,000, representing a year-to-date gain of over 117%.
El Salvador’s government, which has been buying one Bitcoin daily, currently holds 5,995 BTC acquired at an average price of $45,297 per coin. As per BTC’s current valuation, the country’s holdings are worth over $613 million, up substantially by 126.18% from their initial investment of $269.7 million.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment began in September 2021. At the time, President Bukele faced significant skepticism from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by announcing BTC as a legal tender. On November 17, 2022, Bukele proceeded to reveal the country’s plan to purchase one Bitcoin daily through a social media post.
Earlier this year, the IMF urged El Salvador to enhance transparency in its Bitcoin adoption strategy. It emphasized the importance of implementing additional measures to address potential risks tied to their monetary policy, believing BTC would cause dire long-term economic implications because of its price volatility nature.
The government initially was highly criticized by financial watchdogs for investing public funds into a volatile asset. However, Bukele remained steadfast on his bullish bitcoin sentiments, arguing that Bitcoin would promote financial inclusion, attract tourism, and reduce remittance costs.
Over the years, El Salvador introduced several initiatives to bolster its adoption of Bitcoin. These include the development of “Bitcoin City,” a tax-free zone powered by geothermal energy from the country’s volcanoes, and the issuance of “Volcano Bonds” to fund infrastructure projects. Despite challenges, including fluctuating Bitcoin prices and public protests, Bukele’s administration has maintained its commitment to Bitcoin.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin success story has inspired other nations, including Bhutan, which recently disclosed its Bitcoin mining operations leveraging hydropower. Like El Salvador, Bhutan aims to use Bitcoin to diversify its economy and enhance its financial independence.