The number of Bitcoin (BTC) treasury firms keeps on climbing, but announcing a BTC strategy is no longer a guaranteed way to pump a company’s share price.
The model was pioneered by Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), now the world’s largest publicly traded corporate holder with 632,457 BTC at the time of writing. Since its first purchase in August 2020, Strategy’s stock has risen more than 2,200%.
As of Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, 161 publicly traded companies each hold more than 1 BTC, according to BitcoinTreasuries.net. Together, they hold 989,926 BTC — about 4.7% of Bitcoin’s supply.
A wave of newcomers joined the Bitcoin treasury club in 2025, but the market reaction has cooled. Some firms have diversified into Ether (ETH) instead, while others have seen their shares trade back down to, or even below, pre-announcement levels.
Here’s a look at some of those companies whose stock performance has failed to keep pace with their Bitcoin ambitions.
GameStop: Holds 4,710 BTC
GameStop’s fate has long been intertwined with Bitcoin and crypto. In 2021, retail traders on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit triggered a short squeeze on GameStop’s stock, pushing meme finance into the mainstream.
Around the same time, memecoin Dogecoin (DOGE) surged on a wave of cultural hype, online communities and tweets from Elon Musk.
On March 26, 2025, GameStop announced its plan to invest in Bitcoin. Unlike the meme-driven pumps of 2021, Bitcoin failed to recreate the same frenzy. GameStop’s stock initially jumped 12% on the announcement and later peaked at $35 per share on May 28 after the company revealed it had acquired 4,710 BTC.
Related: MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin debt loop: Stroke of genius or risky gamble?
But investors quickly sold the news in both events. On Thursday, its shares closed at $22.79, down more than 27% year-to-date.
Empery Digital: Holds 4,019 BTC
Not every corporate Bitcoin buyer comes with the backstory of GameStop; many are unrelated to cryptocurrencies or blockchain. MicroStrategy was a business intelligence software firm before it pioneered Bitcoin treasuries. Japan’s Metaplanet started as a budget hotel operator before it began following the Strategy playbook in 2024. Its share price has since surged as much as 6,000%.
Volcon, an electric vehicle maker, announced a $500-million Bitcoin treasury strategy on July 17. Two weeks later, it rebranded as Empery Digital and adopted the ticker EMPD on Nasdaq.
Before the pivot, Empery shares mostly traded between $6 and $7, well below their January high of $35. The Bitcoin announcement briefly lifted the stock to $21 on July 17, but the rally didn’t last. On Thursday, EMPD closed at $6.99, back in its usual range.
Sequans Communications: Holds 3,170 BTC
Sequans Communications, a French semiconductor firm that listed on the NYSE in 2011 under the ticker SQNS, has a trading history that resembles a lackluster crypto token: hot listing spikes followed by long stretches of investor disappointment.
At the start of July 2025, SQNS was drifting at $1.45 after a year of steady decline. Its first Bitcoin purchase on July 10 briefly ignited a rally, sending shares as high as $5.39 in the following days. But the momentum quickly faded, and by early August, the stock had slid back to $1.25.
On Monday, Sequans announced a $200-million at-the-market equity offering to fund its plans to accumulate 100,000 BTC by 2030. The news did not stop SQNS from sliding; on Thursday, it closed at $0.91.
Vanadi Coffee: Holds 100 BTC
Like many firms that turned to Bitcoin, Spanish cafe chain Vanadi Coffee was pushed into the strategy by financial distress. In 2024, the company reported 3.33 million euros ($3.9 million) in annual loss, up from 2.87 million euros the year before.
The Bitcoin plan became official on June 29, and the next day, its shares surged to 1.09 euros, closing the month up more than 300% from the 0.27-euro opening price.
Related: Bitcoin’s quantum countdown has already begun, Naoris CEO says
By mid-trading on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, the stock had slipped back to 35 euro cents. It’s still up 95.6% year-to-date but down 44% from the same point in 2024.
Ming Shing Group: Holds 833 BTC
Ming Shing Group, a Hong Kong-based construction and engineering company, was listed on the Nasdaq in November 2024. Soon after going public, it began accumulating Bitcoin, making its first purchase on Jan. 13, 2025,…
cointelegraph.com