Bitcoin treasury companies acquired 244,991 BTC in the first half of 2025: K33

Also, only three tokens have outperformed bitcoin so far this year: XMR, HYPE and SKY

article-image

Kojiz Foto/Shutterstock and Adobe modified by Blockworks

share

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


We’re over halfway through the year, so let’s do a little recap, shall we?

I mentioned K33’s H1 report in an intro the other day, but there’s a lot of interesting data to digest.

Such as the fact that the bitcoin treasury companies acquired a whopping 244,991 bitcoin by the end of June, which marked the official transition from H1 to H2. 

Not to mention that the number of treasury companies, perhaps unsurprisingly, almost doubled by the end of the first half. At the beginning of the year, there were 70 firms with bitcoin on their balance sheet, but that quickly ballooned to 134. 

Source: K33

Companies from the US, Canada, Japan and UK are at the top of the list when it comes to companies pivoting to a bitcoin treasury strategy, but the total sum is made up of companies from 27 countries, according to K33. That gives you a rough idea of how global this is, though the US tops the chart with 41 public companies. 

But it’s not all about bitcoin treasury firms or even just bitcoin. A lot has happened this year, as both Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo and Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley were eager to point out to us just this week. 

In the first half of the year, USDT and USDC’s circulating supply grew by $38 billion as folks flocked to the stablecoin narrative. 

Source: K33

Unfortunately, if you take stablecoins out of the mix, then only nine of the top 50 cryptos saw positive returns in H1, showing that altcoins are still struggling to find their footing in a market dominated by bitcoin and stablecoins. 

Of that nine, K33 noted that three specifically outperformed bitcoin: XMR, HYPE and SKY. 

Source: K33

So it looks like the momentum still isn’t there for an altcoin season. Looking ahead though, there may be some hope on the horizon if some of these altcoin ETFs are approved, which could happen by the end of this year, as we previously reported

K33 noted that H2 tends to be the stronger half for bitcoin seasonally, and we have other tailwinds such as more crypto IPOs to follow in Circle’s footsteps and we could get some more information on the proposed US strategic bitcoin reserve.

Not to mention the role that regulation could play, especially as lawmakers on the Hill discuss the crypto bills this week. 

So there’s still a lot of gas left in the tank — let’s see where it takes us.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (3).png

Research

South Korea is emerging as one of the most important global hubs for regulated digital assets, and Upbit sits at the center of this shift. Naver’s proposed acquisition could create the country’s dominant super app for payments, trading, and digital finance. This report breaks down the numbers, the regulatory tailwinds, the economics of the deal, and why the merger may unlock one of the most attractive asymmetries in Korea’s public markets.

article-image

GPUs are starting to go dark even as data-center spending doubles — is a bubble on the horizon?

article-image

Risk assets sold off as doubts loom over a December rate cut, with BTC tumbling briefly below $95K this morning

by Carlos /
article-image

Jeff Yass bets that prediction markets could stop wars, Paul Atkins’ announcement on “tokens,” and more

article-image

Lido unveils a new buyback plan while BTC treasury companies slip below mNAV — can either model can truly return value?

article-image

If financial nihilism has driven you into memecoins, zero-day options, and sports betting, consider financial optimism instead

article-image

A new Sui-based protocol promises to unlock Bitcoin’s idle liquidity and eliminate wrapped-token risk