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Bitcoin Treasury Bandwagon Reaches Africa as Altvest Jumps on Board
The South African alternative investment firm has bought one bitcoin.
Feb 21, 2025, 10:13 a.m.
What to know:
- Altvest Capital said it is the first publicly listed company in Africa to buy bitcoin as a strategic treasury asset.
- The South African investment firm has acquired one bitcoin.
- The company said it does not plan to buy altcoins as they don't meet its treasury investment criteria.
Altvest Capital (ALV) became the first listed company in Africa to adopt bitcoin (BTC) as a strategic treasury asset, the company said in a press release Friday.
Altvest said it bought one bitcoin for its strategic treasury, following a path set by Strategy (MSTR) in the U.S. and Metaplanet (3350) in Japan.
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The Johannesburg-based company paid 1.8 million rand ($98,200) for just over 1 BTC, and said it doesn't plan to buy alternative cryptocurrencies.
Altvest said it sees "bitcoin as the only digital asset that meets its stringent investment criteria for a long-term treasury allocation."
Corporates are increasingly adding bitcoin as a strategic treasury asset. Michael Saylor's Strategy (formerly known as MicroStrategy) pioneered the a move, starting to buy BTC in 2020. It now holds 478,740 bitcoin, worth more than $47 billion at current prices.
The South African investment firm said the initiative to acquire bitcoin was "focused on preserving shareholder value, mitigating currency depreciation risks, and gaining exposure to a globally recognized store of value."
Since Tokyo-based Metaplanet started buying bitcoin in April last year, it has acquired 2,031 tokens worth nearly $200 million and its shares became the best-performing Japanese equity over the past 12 months, with a gain of 3,900%. Earlier this month, investment bank KBW started coverage of Strategy with an outperform rating and a $560 price target. The shares are currently $323.92.
Altvest shares were trading more than 9% lower at 590 rand at publication time.
Read more: Zoom Communications Should Embrace Bitcoin as Treasury Asset, Eric Semler Says
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