Is the SB coin narrative an innovative story or an Ethereum leverage?

Introduction

The trend of publicly listed companies turning to cryptocurrency reserve strategies shows no signs of waning. Some companies see this as a last-ditch effort to save their business, while others simply replicate MicroStrategy's approach, but a few truly innovative projects have emerged.

This article will explore the leaders in the strategic reserve field of Bitcoin and Ethereum, analyzing how they provide alternatives to spot ETFs, deploy complex financing structures, achieve tax optimization, generate staking yields, integrate the DeFi ecosystem, and leverage unique competitive advantages.

Bitcoin

Overview

According to data, MicroStrategy has rapidly risen to become the largest corporate holder among entities that publicly disclose their holdings, second only to the iShares Bitcoin Trust, controlling nearly 2.865% of the total supply of 21 million.

Nevertheless, ETFs and trusts still dominate, led by iShares, Fidelity, and Grayscale. At the sovereign level, the United States and China hold the most Bitcoin, with Ukraine also maintaining a considerable reserve. Among private companies, Block.one and Tether Holdings are at the forefront.

Among all entities holding Bitcoin, the United States and Canada rank first, followed by the United Kingdom. However, it is also noteworthy that Japan's Metaplanet ranks 5th and China's Next Technology Holding ranks 12th.

Even excluding MicroStrategy, MARA and Twenty One Capital still rank at the top, but the distribution of holdings remains highly concentrated. The amount of Bitcoin held by most companies outside the top ten is only moderate compared to the leaders.

When assessing the Bitcoin reserves of publicly traded companies, there are two indicators that are particularly worth paying attention to:

• Present Value to Cost Ratio
• Bitcoin Net Asset Multiple (BTC NAV Multiple)

The NAV multiple analysis of the top 30 companies shows significant differences among groups, such as Tesla and Coinbase. Since these companies do not primarily focus on Bitcoin reserves and have other core businesses, their NAV multiples are correspondingly higher.

After excluding non-Bitcoin reserve companies, it can be seen that most companies actually trade at a high NAV multiple, many exceeding 2. Only four are below NAV = 1, while large holders like MSTR and MARA do not exhibit the extreme multiples found among smaller companies.

Metaplanet Inc. (MPLAN)

Among the many publicly traded companies that have mimicked MicroStrategy's strategy, one Japanese company stands out—Metaplanet. So far, it has accumulated 16,352 Bitcoins, ranking among the top five publicly listed companies holding Bitcoin, and has significantly accelerated its acquisition pace in the past few months.

Metaplanet first raised cash by issuing six-month zero-coupon bonds at par. To ensure solvency, the company granted the EVO fund a corresponding number of Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs) based on the same board resolution.

The bond contract stipulates that upon maturity, Metaplanet must use the EVO fund to pay cash for the aforementioned SARs at the floating exercise price, as the sole source of funds for redeeming the bonds.

Through this arrangement, Metaplanet has avoided any regular interest expenses.

The sources of income for the EVO fund include dual protection:

1. Principal Protection: At maturity, the bond will repay the principal in full in cash, avoiding the risk of a decline in the underlying stock.
2. Upside Profit: When the stock price of Metaplanet exceeds the floating exercise price, the EVO fund obtains the difference between the market price and the exercise price by exercising the SARs.

Tax advantages constitute another core value: In Japan, capital gains and dividends from stocks are subject to a single tax rate of about 20%, while profits from spot Bitcoin trading are classified as miscellaneous income and must be subject to a progressive national tax rate of 5%-45%, plus a 10% local resident tax (and applicable surcharges), with a maximum combined tax rate of up to 55%. For investors in high tax brackets seeking exposure to Bitcoin, Metaplanet becomes a highly attractive alternative, especially since Japan has not yet approved the listing of spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Metaplanet has traditionally traded at a higher mNAV multiple, typically exceeding 5×, and even once climbing to 20×, far surpassing other major holders. Although this premium reflects investors' confidence in its financing structure, tax advantages, and optimized Bitcoin returns, it also brings higher risks and may imply that its stock price is overhyped.

Other Bitcoin reserve companies: Chengfeng SPAC Wave

Multiple companies are vying to emulate MicroStrategy's Bitcoin reserve strategy. Notably, SPAC companies like Twenty One Capital (ranked 3rd) and ProCap Financial (ranked 13th) have quickly risen to become top holders through complex fundraising structures after the completion of their mergers.

Twenty One Capital, Inc.

Co-founded by Strike CEO Jack Mallers. Twenty One's SPAC path combines commitments to physical Bitcoin, PIPE and convertible debt financing, as well as a two-step merger structure, allowing the company to have a fully funded reserve of 42,000 Bitcoins on its first day of trading on Nasdaq.

The transaction began with Tether and Bitfinex committing to provide 31,500 Bitcoins to a private entity called NewCo, while Tether additionally invested $462 million to purchase Bitcoins. A $200 million PIPE provided funding for the SPAC trust, which was then merged into its combined subsidiary and issued Class A shares to SPAC and PIPE investors.

At the same time, NewCo completed the merger with the same merged subsidiary through a stock swap, exchanging Class A and Class B shares. Meanwhile, a $340 million convertible bond financing was directly injected into Twenty One. Twenty One then utilized the funds from the PIPE and the convertible bond to repurchase the previously pledged Bitcoin from Tether and Bitfinex. SoftBank, as a strategic anchor investor, subscribed for equity equivalent to 10,500 Bitcoins, and if the final reserves do not reach the target of 42,000 Bitcoins, Tether will be responsible for making up the difference.

After the completion of the SPAC merger, the controlling interest of Twenty One will be mainly held by Tether and its affiliated exchange Bitfinex, while SoftBank Group will hold a significant minority stake.

ProCap BTC (PCAP)

ProCap Financial has raised a total of $1.008 billion to launch its Bitcoin reserve platform, of which $256 million comes from SPAC trust (assuming minimal redemptions), $517 million from preferred stock PIPE, and $235 million from zero-coupon, preferred secured convertible bond rounds. Nearly 95% of the total funds raised ($950 million) were immediately invested in the acquisition of 9,498 Bitcoins.

Public SPAC shareholders will exchange 256 million USD in the trust for 25 million shares, accounting for 19.7%; led by Magnetar Capital, ParaFi, Blockchain.com Ventures, Arrington Capital, Woodline Partners, Anson Funds, RK Capital, Off the Chain Capital, FalconX, BSQ Capital, among others, raising 517 million USD in preferred stock PIPE, underwriting 63.5 million shares, accounting for 50.1%; 235 million USD in zero-coupon, preferred secured convertible bonds will rotate into 18.1 million shares, accounting for 14.3%; Inflection Points Inc. will exchange its existing shares and additionally invest 8.5 million USD in equity subscription, receiving 11.1 million shares, accounting for 8.7%; the SPAC sponsors will retain 9 million shares of promote, accounting for 7.1%.

Despite the generally poor performance of SPAC projects, Bitcoin reserve SPACs are still recognized for their transparency in shareholding and cost basis. Their S-1/S-4 filing documents comprehensively disclose the cash contributions, equity distribution, and the value of physical Bitcoin contributions from all parties involved. Since these companies have a similar "acquire and hold Bitcoin" business model, such disclosures provide investors with a reliable reference for assessing the degree of equity dilution, holding costs, and reserve composition.

Compared to the recent reliance on complex architecture for SPAC financing models, early adopters like Next Technology Holding have accumulated Bitcoin reserves through more direct equity cash transactions.

At the same time, GameStop's move is also noteworthy: on May 28, 2025, this game retailer with cash reserves of $4.8 billion announced that as part of its digital asset strategy, it has spent approximately $513 million to acquire 4,710 coins.

a crypto platform with ample cash

Although many companies are imitating MicroStrategy's full Bitcoin strategy, there are also quite a few native crypto platforms that continuously and steadily invest in digital assets, and occasionally, one-time large buyers like Tesla appear.

The issuer of USDT, Tether, has actively incorporated Bitcoin into its reserves since the end of 2022, allocating up to 15% of its net profits each quarter for direct market purchases and investments in renewable energy mining. Tether's Bitcoin reserves have seen quarterly growth since 2023, doubling to over 100,000 Bitcoins and accumulating approximately 3.9 billion USD in unrealized gains.

Block (formerly Square) "bet" for the first time in October 2020, purchasing 4,709 bitcoins for $50 million, which accounted for about 1% of its assets at the time. In the first quarter of 2021, it added another $170 million (3,318 coins), increasing its reserve to over 8,000 coins. Since then, Block has maintained its bitcoin holdings. In April 2024, Block launched an enterprise-level dollar-cost averaging plan, allocating 10% of the monthly gross profit from its bitcoin products to execute systematic purchases at a two-hour weighted average price through over-the-counter liquidity providers.

Coinbase officially established its corporate Bitcoin strategy in August 2021, with the board approving a one-time purchase of $500 million in digital assets and committing to allocate 10% of quarterly net profits into a portfolio that includes Bitcoin.

In January 2021, Tesla's board approved the purchase of $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, stating that "we believe in the long-term potential of digital assets as an investment and the value of them as a cash equivalent alternative." Months later, CEO Elon Musk stated that Tesla sold about 10% of its Bitcoin "to prove liquidity," realizing a profit of $128 million in the first quarter of 2021; in the second quarter of 2022, Tesla sold approximately 75% of its remaining holdings.