Crypto Assets on the Balance Sheets of U.S. Public Companies: Financing Sources, Corporate Motives, and the Evolution of Treasury Strategies (Acta Universitatis Lodziensis Folia oeconomica)

Summary

• The study examines crypto assets reported on the balance sheets of U.S. public companies from August 2020 through June 2026, drawing on SEC filings from a purposive sample of 18 major corporate holders.p.1
• Among eleven acquiring firms analyzed, equity issuance was utilized by nine companies, whereas debt was never used as the sole source of financing.p.2
• For six dedicated crypto-asset treasury companies, common equity including in-kind contributions accounted for 77.0% of funds raised, preferred stock accounted for 10.5%, and debt represented 12.5%.p.2
• During the Q1 2026 market downturn, MARA Holdings sold 15,133 BTC for approximately $1.1 billion to buy back convertible debt maturing in 2030 and 2031 at a 9% discount.p.18
• The analysis outlines five distinct phases in corporate crypto treasury evolution: Experiment (2020–2021), Retreat (2022), Normalisation (2023–2024), Expansion (from early 2025), and Stress-testing (2025–2026).p.22

Key insights

1. Crypto asset purchases by public companies systematically reverse the classical pecking-order hierarchy by relying heavily on equity instruments over debt or internal cash flows.p.3
2. Crypto assets act as an 'anti-reserve' in classical corporate treasury terms due to extreme volatility and positive correlation with broader market conditions.p.4
3. Liabilities with non-discretionary payment obligations create strong pressure on firms to liquidate crypto holdings during market downturns when fresh capital issuance is blocked.p.12
4. Firms financed predominantly with common equity maintained or expanded their holdings during market pullbacks provided their access to share issuance remained open.p.2
5. Corporate disclosures shifted over time from classical precautionary reserve language toward an explicit asset-accumulation business motive centered on expanding crypto per share.p.22
6. Corporate treasury strategies expanded in 2025 beyond Bitcoin to systematically include alternative crypto assets such as Ether and Solana.p.19
7. The 2025–2026 crypto market crash led to corporate model differentiation and selection without reversing the overall institutionalisation of corporate crypto treasuries.p.23