Overview of BTC large holding institutions' profits and losses: Some have unrealized gains of 800 million dollars, while others are still in losses
Who has made significant profits? Who has not yet broken even?Written by: Loopy Lu, Odaily Planet Daily
Recently, the cryptocurrency market has surged significantly. Amid strong bullish sentiment in the market, the price of Bitcoin briefly broke through $35,000 and is currently hovering around that price.
While retail investors cheer for the rise of BTC, let’s shift our focus back to the "whales" in the market—institutional investors.
After this round of substantial increases, what has happened to the large traditional institutions that once brought joy to the crypto market? Are their investment positions currently in profit or loss?
According to Coingecko data, there are currently 28 publicly listed companies globally holding Bitcoin, collectively owning 239,494 BTC, with a total market value of approximately $8.1 billion.
In addition to publicly listed companies, sovereign nations are also alternative "investors" in cryptocurrencies, holding large amounts of Bitcoin either actively or passively (due to legal reasons), with El Salvador being the most well-known example.
Odaily Planet Daily has compiled the Bitcoin holdings of mainstream institutions and countries, with the specifics as follows:
Among the 28 publicly listed companies, 16 hold more than 500 Bitcoins. Additionally, there are 4 sovereign nations whose Bitcoin holdings also exceed 500.
U.S. Government
The U.S. government is the most notable entity among Bitcoin whales. This holder is neither a crypto investor nor a financial institution, but unbeknownst to many, the U.S. government has become a leading Bitcoin billionaire in the crypto world, interestingly—it does not care about the fluctuations of this digital currency.
Jarod Koopman, the director of the IRS's cyber and forensic services division, has publicly stated, "We do not play the market. We are basically set up according to our processes."
Unlike other whales that accumulate Bitcoin through purchases, most of the U.S. government's Bitcoin comes from seized assets.
Just three recent seizures have added over 200,000 Bitcoins to the government's treasury. Previously, the U.S. government had sold about 20,000 Bitcoins, and each time the government "liquidates," it causes turmoil in the crypto market.
Coingecko shows that the U.S. still holds over 207,000 Bitcoins, valued at approximately $7.19 billion. In comparison, the renowned Bitcoin "fanatic" MicroStrategy currently holds only 158,000 Bitcoins.
MicroStrategy
Unrealized Profit: Approximately $816 million (17.4%)
MicroStrategy is the first publicly traded company to buy Bitcoin in large quantities and is the largest holder of Bitcoin among U.S. public companies. Since August 2020, MicroStrategy has announced 28 BTC purchases, accumulating 158,245 Bitcoins at an average purchase price of $29,582.
This company is well-known not only for the sheer volume of its Bitcoin purchases but also for its "fervor" for Bitcoin. Since its purchases, MicroStrategy has never sold any BTC, and its diamond hands have indeed transcended the bull and bear markets.
Coingecko data shows that the BTC purchased by the company has generated an unrealized profit of $815,584,823, approximately $816 million, with an unrealized profit of 17.4%.
Since MicroStrategy's first Bitcoin purchase in August 2020, Bitcoin has increased by 147%. The S&P 500 index has risen by 26%, the Nasdaq index by 18%; gold has fallen by 3%, silver by 19%, and bonds by 24%. Undoubtedly, Bitcoin has been the best-performing asset class during this period. MicroStrategy's diamond hands have yielded significant returns.
In addition to its diamond hands, another interesting anecdote about MicroStrategy is that its buying behavior has a "mystical" influence on the market.
After each purchase, bearish voices often emerge on social media—"Whenever MicroStrategy buys, the market is bound to fall."
Odaily Planet Daily has also reviewed MicroStrategy's 28 BTC purchases to explore whether there is any correlation between MicroStrategy's announcements and market prices.
Tesla
Unrealized Profit: Approximately $364 million (8.5%)
If we mention the most influential "man" in the crypto market, all investors would likely point to one option—Tesla CEO, SpaceX CEO, and self-proclaimed "Dogecoin CEO" Elon Musk.
Whenever Musk makes a "call," the market experiences strong fluctuations. Not only does Musk make calls himself, but Tesla, under his leadership, has also deeply engaged in the crypto market by purchasing a large amount of Bitcoin.
In mid-October, Tesla released its latest financial report. The report indicated that the company did not buy or sell any Bitcoin in the third quarter, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of unchanged holdings for Tesla.
Coingecko data shows that Tesla holds approximately 10,500 Bitcoins, valued at about $364 million.
Bitcoin Mining Companies
Marathon Unrealized Profit: Approximately $461 million (144%)
Unlike the "speculative trading" of other companies listed in this article, mining companies represent a more unique presence among institutional holdings. For example, Marathon and Hut 8 both adopt a business model of self-mining and long-term holding and investing in BTC.
Their Bitcoin does not rely on large purchases but comes significantly from their own production. Therefore, their Bitcoin holding costs are much lower than those of other companies. In terms of return rate, Marathon's impressive 144% return rate ranks first among publicly listed companies' Bitcoin returns.
Marathon was registered in Nevada in 2010 under the name Verve Ventures, Inc. In 2017, the company purchased digital asset mining equipment and established a data center in Canada for mining digital assets. However, the company ceased operations in Canada in 2020 and consolidated all its business in the U.S. Since then, it has expanded its Bitcoin mining activities in the U.S. and internationally. The company changed its name to Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. on March 1, 2021.
Currently, the company's main business is self-mining Bitcoin. Its operational strategy involves financing to purchase mining machines, deploying mining sites, and holding Bitcoin as a long-term investment after covering cash operating costs.
Hut 8 is a Bitcoin mining company based in Canada, primarily focused on Bitcoin mining using advanced hardware and data center resources, making it one of North America's largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies. In addition to mining, Hut 8 also offers other cryptocurrency-related services and solutions, such as high-performance computing.
Hut 8 typically establishes its mining facilities in areas with lower energy costs (such as some remote locations in Canada) to reduce operating costs and improve efficiency. This allows the company to remain competitive in the highly competitive cryptocurrency mining market.
Another interesting piece of data is that although Bitcoin has recently achieved significant returns, the stocks of Bitcoin mining companies have outperformed Bitcoin in terms of return rates.
According to CoinGecko data, all crypto mining company stocks, except for Argo Blockchain and TeraWulf, have had year-to-date returns exceeding Bitcoin, averaging around 150%, while Bitcoin's return is 84.61%. This also reflects the market's optimistic sentiment towards Bitcoin from another angle.
Meitu
Unrealized Loss: Approximately $16.86 million (-34.1%)
Meitu is the only Chinese company mentioned in this article. Currently, its total holdings of BTC and ETH have incurred a loss of $16,855,368.
Last month, Meitu released its mid-year performance report for 2023. The report showed that in the first half of this year, Meitu's revenue reached HKD 1.261 billion, a year-on-year increase of 29.83%; net profit was HKD 151 million, a year-on-year increase of 320.4%; and net profit attributable to shareholders reached HKD 228 million, turning a profit compared to the same period last year, exceeding the previously forecasted range of HKD 220 million to HKD 265 million.
The company's investment in cryptocurrencies has a book loss of approximately HKD 670 million, but due to the market's recovery this year, a book impairment reversal of HKD 186 million has occurred.
As early as 2021, Meitu purchased 31,000 ETH and 940.89 BTC. The company has been holding these cryptocurrencies and stated, "The Group has not purchased or sold any cryptocurrencies based on its cryptocurrency investment plan."
