UK Bitcoin Reserve Company Buys More BTC, Stock Continues to Rise

The Smarter Web Company has seen its stock surge 254% this month as it brings its total Bitcoin reserve holdings up to 543.52 BTC.

Based in Bristol, the Smarter Web Company is a British web design and online marketing firm that began accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment in 2023. Its Bitcoin reserve began following its IPO in April.

It raised $2.86 million (£2.1 million) upon listing on the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market on April 25, and has since seen its stock rise from £4.50 to £292.50 as of writing. That’s a return of more than 6,400%.

Its market cap has also risen by 254% since the start of June, following Bitcoin purchases on June 5, June 10, June 13, June 19 and yesterday.

CEO Andrew Webley told Decrypt this percentage makes the firm’s listing “the most successful IPO in the UK ever,” and notes the sudden increase in its share price has inspired a wave of copycat firms.

“Ironically, since we started […] there’s over 21 [companies] that have come out claiming to do what we do since we listed two months ago,” he said.

In fact, he also notes that two UK-listed firms announced a BTC reserve policy the same day he spoke to Decrypt: GSTechnologies and TruSpine Technologies.

And without naming names, he suggests that some of the 21 firms he has counted have not actually acquired any Bitcoin, despite announcing a BTC reserve policy.

“The UK’s potentially getting into a bit of a dangerous place actually with, you know, people who are claiming to do it rather than doing it,” he says, adding that he has reported the issue to Acquis.

As with Strategy in the U.S., the funds for the Smarter Web Company’s purchases have come primarily from the sale of ordinary shares. Webley told Decrypt that the firm has raised a little over $74.9 million, or £55 million, in total since April.

“We don’t have any debt, and we’ve never raised money at a discount either, so we always raise at the market price,” he added.

In terms of what led to his interest in Bitcoin and to his company establishing a BTC reserve, Webley says that the cryptocurrency is the “best asset in the world” because of its fixed supply and decentralization.

“I do believe in Bitcoin,” he said. “I think recent history has proven that approach, so that’s what I like about Bitcoin and why I keep our assets in Bitcoin rather than cash.”

Webley also acknowledges that Bitcoin isn’t without risks, given that it’s “quite a volatile asset.” But he believes it has become “more stable and less volatile” over the past six to 12 months.

“This weekend is a good example, with the American action against Iran, and Bitcoin was incredibly chilled out; I think it might have moved 3% or 4% at most, something like that,” he said.

The Smarter Web Company aims to bring its reserve up to 1,000 BTC in the next four months, although Webley suspects that it may actually achieve this milestone within three months.

Such growth might invite the question as to where the firm’s BTC policy will leave its original lines of business, although Webley affirms that the policy is meant to complement and support the latter, and not replace it somewhere down the line.

“If our business can grow, much bigger than it would have been, through the power of Bitcoin, so that more people know about us, so more people know about our services, then for somebody that believes in Bitcoin, that’s quite cool,” he said.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.