(Bloomberg) – In the past, Coinbase Global Inc. had been tempted to go all out to Michael Saylor’s popular Bitcoin buying strategy, but thought the plan was too risky.
“There are certainly some moments over the past 12 years where we think, man, we should put 80% of our balance sheet into cryptocurrencies – embodied into bitcoin,” Brian Armstrong, founder and CEO of the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., said in a video speech on X social network on Friday.
Armstrong said Coinbase finally decided to oppose Gambit because it risked damage to the company’s cash position as a startup and could potentially “kill” the San Francisco-based company. “We consciously chose the risk.”
That said, Coinbase bought $153 million in cryptocurrency (mainly Bitcoin) in the first quarter, according to the company’s latest shareholder letter. It holds $1.3 billion worth of cryptocurrency (mainly Bitcoin), according to a letter released Thursday.
Coinbase Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas also participated in the X discussion, saying the company does not want to be seen competing with clients investing in cryptocurrencies.
“Don’t worry, we won’t stop there,” Haas said.
Recently, a range of companies have sought to imitate Saylor’s stock purchase blueprint for capital purchases for stocks and debt sales, and bet that the rapid appreciation of cryptocurrencies will enhance the value of the company’s shares. The former MicroStrategy stock has soared more than 3,000% since its strategic holdings of about $54 billion in cryptocurrency and began buying Bitcoin in 2020.
Bitcoin Miners are a group of obscure small and newly formed companies of cryptocurrency heavyweights that offer anything from convertible bonds to preferred stocks, giving the different flavors of Bitcoin to investors.
In recent weeks, Cantor Fitzgerald LP’s affiliate said it is partnering with Stablecoin issuers Tether Holdings SA and Softbank Group to launch twenty-one Capital Inc., a company that mimics its strategic business model. A subsidiary of Strive Enterprises Inc., co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, is merging with a Nasdaq listed asset entity to form a Bitcoin Treasury company.
On Friday, the Beijing-based software company revealed it increased its Bitcoin holdings from 833 to 5,833 shares, and the next technology holdings of Inc. rose more than 600% in U.S. trading, triggering a volatility stop.
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