Advertisement
Healthcare Firm Semler Scientific Buys $40m BTC, Adopts Bitcoin as Primary Treasury Asset
- Semler Scientific (SMLR) has announced it will adopt Bitcoin as its primary reserve asset, buying 581 BTC valued at US$40 million including fees and expenses.
- SMLR says it sees Bitcoin as a reliable store of value and believes the cryptocurrency could deliver better returns than gold as it gains further mainstream adoption.
- The market reacted positively to the news, with Semler Scientific’s share price pumping 24%.
Semler Scientific, a publicly listed company which produces healthcare products to help with the management of chronic health conditions, has announced it’s gone all in on Bitcoin.
In a press release published Tuesday US time, the company said its board of directors had decided to “adopt Bitcoin as its primary reserve asset”, adding that the company has bought 581 BTC for a total of US$40 million, including fees and expenses.
The market responded positively to the news, with Semler Scientific’s share price up over 24% on the day.
Related: Bitcoin-Heavy MicroStrategy Makes MSCI World Index with $13 Billion Bitcoin Stash
Bitcoin Better Than Gold, Says Semler Scientific
Semler Scientific’s Chairman, Eric Semler, laid out the company’s reasons for investing in Bitcoin, saying the company sees Bitcoin as a reliable store of value and emphasising the benefits of its scarcity and security:
Our bitcoin treasury strategy and purchase of bitcoin underscore our belief that bitcoin is a reliable store of value and a compelling investment…Bitcoin is now a major asset class with more than $1 trillion of market value. We believe it has unique characteristics as a scarce and finite asset that can serve as a reasonable inflation hedge and safe haven amid global instability.
Eric Semler, Semler Scientific Chairman Semler went on to compare Bitcoin favourably with gold, saying it could potentially deliver better returns than the precious metal as it continues to gain more mainstream adoption:
We also believe its digital, architectural resilience makes it preferable to gold, which has a market value of approximately 10 times that of bitcoin. Given the gap in value between gold and bitcoin, we believe that bitcoin has the potential to generate outsize returns as it gains increasing acceptance as digital gold.
Eric Semler, Semler Scientific Chairman Semler also said the approval of the Bitcoin ETFs had played a role in the company’s decision, explaining “we are energized by the growing global acceptance and ‘institutionalization’ of bitcoin — reflected most recently by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s January 2024 approval of 11 bitcoin exchange-traded funds.”
Corporate Accumulation Of BTC A Growing Trend
A growing number of companies are investing in Bitcoin, following the lead of corporate Bitcoin pioneer, Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy.
Related: Japanese Firm Metaplanet Emulates MicroStrategy’s BTC Buying Strategy, Sees Share Price Surge 7x
Recently the Japanese company Metaplanet has become known as the ‘MicroStrategy of Asia’ for its aggressive accumulation of Bitcoin over the past few months. This strategy seems to be working for Metaplanet — its share price is up over 350% year-to-date and trading in Metaplanet shares has been halted several times this year due to the price rising too quickly — a rule the Tokyo Stock Exchange put in place to limit volatility on small-cap stocks.
Author
Jody McDonald
Jody is a Brisbane-based freelance writer who specialises in writing about business, technology, and the future of work.
