In brief
- Healthcare company KindlyMD said Tuesday that it spent $679 million to buy over 5,743 Bitcoin.
- The firm pivoted to a Bitcoin treasury strategy earlier this year when it merged with holding company Nakamoto.
- It is the latest company to morph into a crypto treasury.
Bitcoin treasury KindlyMD has added $679 million in BTC to its holdings, the company said Tuesday—though the firm’s stock has taken a plunge following the announcement.
The Nasdaq-listed company said that it had bought 5,743.91 BTC via its wholly owned subsidiary, Nakamoto Holdings, Inc, for an average price of about $118,205 per coin.
Bitcoin was recently trading for $113,200, down 2.4% over a 24-hour period and by more than 5% over the past week after hitting a new all-time high mark above $124,000 last week.
“This acquisition reinforces our conviction in Bitcoin as the ultimate reserve asset for corporations and institutions alike,” David Bailey, the company’s CEO said.
KindlyMD’s stock—which trades under the ticker NAKA—was down by more than 13% Tuesday to a price of $10.41. The firm, which focuses on providing healthcare data, in May announced a merger with holding company Nakamoto.
Nakamoto is a holding company co-founded by Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey with the intent of purchasing Bitcoin. Bailey advised President Donald Trump on crypto policy while the Republican candidate was campaigning last year.
KindlyMD said on Monday that it had closed a $200 million convertible note offering as part of its Bitcoin-buying strategy. It raised another $540 million in August via a private placement in public equity (PIPE) to buy the cryptocurrency.
The move is straight out of Strategy’s playbook: Raise cash to buy Bitcoin so investors can buy shares of a publicly traded company and get regulated exposure to the asset.
Strategy shifted from software development to focus on Bitcoin accumulation in 2020. It is the largest corporate holder of the asset with 629,376 BTC worth over $71 billion.
Some 168 public companies now have Bitcoin treasuries, according to bitcointreasuries.net, holding a total of more than 983,000 Bitcoin.
Some experts have warned that the crypto play has its risks, and that pivoting to crypto won’t necessarily save a failing business. But companies keep popping up, and some are amassing billions of dollars’ worth of digital assets.
Other notable treasuries include Twenty One, started by a combination of crypto and traditional finance powerhouses—Tether, Bitfinex, Cantor Fitzgerald, and SoftBank. It holds 43,500 BTC—almost $5 billion worth as of this writing—although it has yet to begin trading.
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