Publicly traded companies are demonstrating minimal enthusiasm for bitcoin BTC, implying that a major catalyst driving the 2004–25 bull cycle remains sluggish while the asset attempts a lasting recovery.
According to Glassnode, these corporations have accumulated only about 5,900 BTC over the past three months, representing a tiny fraction of the accumulation rate seen last year. Nasdaq-listed Strategy drove the vast majority of this acquisition activity, which featured a late-August purchase of 4,603 BTC.
Valued at a spot price near $76,400, those 5,900 tokens equal roughly $451 million. While significant, this amount shrinks when contrasted with the corresponding period a year prior, when bitcoin traded above $100,000.
During that earlier timeframe, corporate reserves expanded by over 100,000 BTC, which included 89,000 units bought during July alone. In contrast, the recent 5,900-BTC acquisition represents under 7% of the July 2025 aggregate. With bitcoin surpassing $100,000 back then, that month’s purchases totaled upwards of $8.9 billion, beating out the market capitalization of nearly every cryptocurrency outside the leading 15 assets.
Glassnode noted that corporate treasuries acted as major buyers through 2025 but have since pulled back. They added that their average entry point, known as the Corporate Treasury Cost Basis, sits at $80.5K, which is roughly 6% higher than spot prices, putting the aggregate cohort underwater.
Although bitcoin recently crossed that threshold, it failed to maintain those upward moves.
Data compiled by Bitcoin Treasuries currently estimates total public company reserves at approximately 1.22 million BTC spread across 181 registered enterprises. Strategy continues to lead as the principal accumulator and holder with roughly 845,050 BTC, while Tokyo-listed Metaplanet counts among the other substantial corporate holders. Collectively, these corporate reserves remain at a loss under current market valuations.
Glassnode further remarked that reclaiming the $80.5K level would return these corporate holdings to profitability while eliminating an overhead supply barrier; until then, their initial purchase price acts as an ongoing ceiling.
Other demand indicators paint a mixed picture
U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds have drawn billions of dollars since early August, pointing toward a recovery in institutional interest for the digital asset. Even so, statistics from SoSoValue show these funds trail by approximately $1 billion regarding year-to-date net inflows.
CoinGlass metrics indicate the Coinbase premium metric has mostly stayed negative since May, apart from a temporary spike into positive territory on September 5. A negative reading implies that bitcoin trades at a discount on Coinbase compared to the Binance offshore platform, pointing to softer demand among U.S. participants relative to international traders.
Meanwhile, the total circulating supply of stablecoins—utilized by analysts as a gauge for incoming fiat liquidity entering the crypto economy—has stayed relatively constant between $300 billion and $310 billion throughout the year. This supply has also remained stagnant across recent weeks despite the mid-August bitcoin rally, indicating that fresh capital deployment via stablecoins is subdued at best.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/09/18/corporate-treasuries-bought-just-5-900-bitcoin-in-3-months-other-demand-signals-look-weak-too.
