The corporate bitcoin treasury trade is fracturing. Nine public companies sold bitcoin in March 2026, offloading approximately 22,000 BTC while a single firm — Strategy (MSTR) — purchased 44,400 BTC in the same period. In the first week of April, the selloff accelerated: Riot Platforms moved 500 ...
"This transaction enhances our financial position and ability to manage risk in an environment of heightened bitcoin volatility." — Ryan Lane, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Empery Digital
The corporate bitcoin treasury trade is fracturing. Nine public companies sold bitcoin in March 2026, offloading approximately 22,000 BTC while a single firm — Strategy (MSTR) — purchased 44,400 BTC in the same period. In the first week of April, the selloff accelerated: Riot Platforms moved 500 BTC ($34M), Empery Digital liquidated 370 BTC ($24.7M) to repay its term loan, and Genius Group sold its last 84 BTC to clear $8.5M in debt. Bhutan's sovereign fund sold 375 BTC on March 30 alone, extending its 2026 total to approximately 3,103 BTC ($120M). Nakamoto Holdings, once valued at $24 billion, has collapsed 99.3% and faces Nasdaq delisting after selling 284 BTC at a 40% realized loss.
Meanwhile, Strategy bought 45,000 BTC in the past 30 days, its fastest accumulation pace in nearly a year. The company now holds 762,099 BTC — roughly 76% of all bitcoin held by publicly listed treasury companies — acquired for $57.69 billion at an average of $75,694 per coin. With bitcoin at $66,800 on April 2, the position is approximately $6 billion underwater.
The bitcoin treasury model, which attracted 151 public companies collectively holding 1.17 million BTC (5.58% of total supply), is bifurcating into a single leveraged buyer and a growing list of forced sellers. The REX Bitcoin Corporate Treasury Convertible Bond ETF (BMAX) announced liquidation on April 21. Nearly 40% of treasury companies now trade below their net asset value. The economic fundamentals that sustained the 2024-2025 accumulation cycle — rising bitcoin prices, cheap convertible debt, and mNAV premiums — have reversed.
The first week of April 2026 produced the most concentrated period of corporate bitcoin liquidation since the treasury strategy gained traction in late 2020. The sellers and their motivations:
Riot Platforms (RIOT): Sold 500 BTC for $34.13 million on April 2. The company, one of the largest publicly traded bitcoin miners in the U.S., retains approximately 17,500 BTC. A Riot VP stated the company "will continue to sell bitcoin from treasury to fund operational needs." Riot sold approximately $200 million worth of bitcoin in November-December 2025 and is redirecting capital toward AI and high-performance computing infrastructure at its Corsicana facility, targeting 1 GW of power capacity.
Empery Digital (EMPD): Sold 370 BTC at an average of $66,632 per coin, generating $24.7 million in gross proceeds. Used the funds to fully repay its outstanding term loan, which released approximately 1,800 BTC previously pledged as collateral. Empery retains 2,989 BTC. The company is also embroiled in an ongoing proxy fight involving buyout proposals and boardroom disputes.
Genius Group (GNS): Liquidated its entire remaining bitcoin position — 84 BTC — to clear $8.5 million in debt. The AI-focused education company originally adopted a "Bitcoin-first" strategy in November 2024, setting a target of allocating 90% of reserves to BTC. It accumulated up to 440 BTC at an average cost of approximately $102,800 per coin, implying a 35% realized loss at the time of liquidation. A U.S. court order had previously blocked the company from raising funds or issuing shares, leaving asset sales as the only option.
Bitdeer Technologies (BTDR): Sold its entire treasury of 1,132.9 BTC in February 2026, reducing holdings to zero. Proceeds were redirected to AI data center infrastructure and the development of its SEALMINER ASIC hardware. Bitdeer simultaneously raised $325 million in convertible notes and $43.5 million in equity.
In aggregate, at least nine public companies reduced their bitcoin positions in March 2026. The common thread: debt servicing, operational cash needs, and a strategic pivot toward AI/HPC infrastructure — not a voluntary exit from conviction.
Against this backdrop, Strategy purchased approximately 45,000 BTC in the 30 days ending April 2 — while all other treasury companies combined bought fewer than 1,000 BTC in the same window.
Strategy's position as of March 24, 2026:
| Metric | Value | |---|---| | Total BTC held | 762,099 | | Total acquisition cost | $57.69B | | Average cost per BTC | $75,694 | | Market value (at $66,800) | ~$50.9B | | Unrealized loss | ~$6.8B | | Share of all public company BTC | ~76% | | Q1 2026 purchases | 90,000+ BTC across 13 weekly buys |
The company funds acquisitions through its "42/42" plan, targeting $84 billion in capital raised over three years via equal parts ATM equity sales ($42B) and fixed-income securities ($42B). Strategy's mNAV has compressed to approximately 0.81, meaning its market capitalization is 19% below the value of its bitcoin holdings.
The concentration creates a structural dependency: the entire corporate bitcoin treasury narrative now rests on one firm's continued ability to raise capital and buy bitcoin. According to CoinDesk, "corporate bitcoin buying has effectively consolidated around a single firm."
The metric that drove the 2024-2025 corporate bitcoin accumulation boom — mNAV, or the ratio of a company's enterprise value to the market value of its bitcoin — has inverted for a significant portion of the sector.
Approximately 40% of publicly traded bitcoin treasury companies now trade below an mNAV of 1.0, according to data from mNAV.com and CoinGecko. This means the market assigns these companies less value than the bitcoin sitting on their balance sheets. In a functioning market, this should attract arbitrageurs. In practice, it reflects the market's assessment that these companies' overhead, debt structures, and operational costs are liabilities that exceed any premium for bitcoin exposure.
The feedback loop operates as follows: falling bitcoin prices compress mNAV multiples, which raises the cost of new equity and debt issuance, which slows or halts bitcoin accumulation, which removes a source of buy-side demand, which contributes to further price weakness. For companies that used convertible debt to fund purchases, the compression makes refinancing increasingly difficult.
Strategy's own mNAV at 0.81 represents a 21.6% discount to its net bitcoin value — a stark reversal from the 2.5-3.0x premiums the stock commanded in late 2024 when the accumulation model was attracting imitators.
Nakamoto Holdings represents the most complete failure of the bitcoin treasury model to date. The company, which launched in August 2025, peaked at a market capitalization near $24 billion. As of April 2026, it trades at approximately $180 million — a 99.3% decline.
Key events in the collapse:
Total losses on bitcoin holdings stand at approximately $275 million. The Nakamoto case illustrates a core risk: when a company's sole value proposition is holding a volatile asset funded by leverage, any sustained price decline creates a self-reinforcing liquidation cycle.
Bhutan's government, which accumulated approximately 13,000 BTC through state-sponsored hydropower mining beginning in 2019, has reduced its holdings to roughly 5,400 BTC — a 58% decrease from its peak.
In 2026 alone, Bhutan has net sold approximately $120 million in bitcoin, according to Arkham Intelligence data. The most recent transaction on March 30 liquidated 375 BTC. Total outflows from Bhutan-linked wallets reached $158.57 million, offset by $38.84 million in inflows.
Proceeds have been directed toward national development projects, including the Gelephu Mindfulness City initiative. Unlike corporate treasury companies, Bhutan's sales appear to represent structured drawdowns from a nearly zero-cost-basis asset (mined with subsidized hydroelectric power) rather than distressed liquidation.
The bitcoin treasury boom of 2024-2025 was funded substantially through convertible notes and bitcoin-backed lending. Several structural risks have now materialized:
Refinancing walls: Companies with convertible debt maturing in 2026-2027 face refinancing in a market where mNAV premiums have vanished. Issuers that sold converts at 2-3x mNAV premiums must now roll debt at or below 1.0x, diluting shareholders or triggering asset sales.
Collateral calls: Bitcoin-backed loans, such as Nakamoto's $210 million facility from Kraken, include collateral maintenance requirements. A bitcoin price below $60,000 — a level Bloomberg flagged as a potential "liquidation spiral" trigger in February 2026 — would put additional treasury companies at risk.
ETF liquidation: The REX Bitcoin Corporate Treasury Convertible Bond ETF (BMAX) announced it will cease trading on April 13, 2026, with full liquidation by April 21. The adviser cited "limited prospect for meaningful future asset growth" and unwillingness to continue subsidizing operating expenses. The product, designed to offer exposure to the convertible debt of treasury companies, could not attract sufficient assets in a declining market.
Strategy's own debt structure is more defensible: most of its convertible notes mature between 2028 and 2032 with interest rates of 0-1% and no margin maintenance covenants tied to bitcoin's price. The company has stated it faces no liquidation risk unless bitcoin falls to approximately $8,000.
Not every treasury company is retreating. Japan's Metaplanet (3350.T) added 5,075 BTC in Q1 2026 for approximately $398 million, bringing total holdings to 40,177 BTC. The acquisition pushed Metaplanet past MARA Holdings to become the third-largest corporate bitcoin holder, behind Strategy (762,099 BTC) and Twenty One Capital (43,514 BTC).
Metaplanet's "555 Million Plan" targets 100,000 BTC by end of 2026 and 210,000 BTC by end of 2027. The company reported a BTC yield of 2.8% year-to-date. However, Metaplanet's stock slipped on the announcement, suggesting the market's willingness to reward accumulation has diminished.
The bitcoin corporate treasury model, as conceived in 2020 and scaled through 2025, required three conditions: rising bitcoin prices, access to cheap convertible capital, and market willingness to value treasury companies above their net bitcoin holdings. All three conditions have reversed.
The result is a bifurcated market. Strategy continues accumulating, leveraging its unique scale, long-dated low-interest debt, and institutional recognition to operate as the sector's sole systematic buyer. Everyone else is selling, restructuring, or collapsing.
This pattern mirrors the economic value distribution dynamics identified in broader blockchain analysis: subsidy-dependent models — whether funded by token inflation or cheap capital — function during expansion but face existential pressure during contraction. The corporate treasury trade was, in effect, a leveraged bet on bitcoin price appreciation dressed in corporate finance language. For one company, the bet is large enough and long-dated enough to potentially survive. For the rest, 2026 is a reckoning.
The 151 public companies still holding bitcoin collectively represent 5.58% of total supply. Whether this concentration becomes a source of systemic selling pressure — or stabilizes as a permanent feature of bitcoin's ownership structure — depends on whether bitcoin's price can recover above the $75,000-$80,000 range where most treasury companies break even. The data currently points toward continued attrition.