BitGo Blog: Discusses Bitcoin's First Movers and Growing Mainstream Acceptance as More Institutional Investors Embrace Cryptocurrencies

NEWS RELEASE

BitGo Blog: Discusses Bitcoin’s First Movers and
Growing Mainstream Acceptance as More
Institutional Investors Embrace Cryptocurrencies
2/12/2021

Meet the 30 Private & Public Companies with Bitcoin Reserves Totaling Over $55 Billion

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BitGo, the leading digital asset nancial services company, issued a blog post
discussing 30 private and public companies that are the rst movers to add Bitcoin to their balance sheet or
portfolios.

Bitcoin has attained newfound ubiquity over the past year, with prominent gures ranging from Bridgewater’s Ray
Dallio to Tesla’s Elon Musk acknowledging the viability and utility of the asset class. Often referred to as ‘digital gold,’
Bitcoin is supported by a resilient, peer-to-peer global ledger called a blockchain. Like gold before it, Bitcoin is
perceived to be a hedge against rising in ation of the dollar and other global at currencies. Bitcoin’s popularity
and adoption as a reserve asset has further increased over the past year due to the fallout from the Covid-19
pandemic and subsequent monetary expansion.

Over the past year, in the face of in ation and global uncertainty, mainstream businesses have forayed into digital
assets with newfound enthusiasm. From public companies like Tesla and Square to funds like Grayscale Bitcoin
Trust and Tudor Investment Group, prominent institutions are increasing their exposure to Bitcoin. In aggregate,
these institutions are estimated to hold over 6% of the 18.6 million Bitcoin in circulation, amounting for over 1.2
million BTC. At time of writing, with Bitcoin surpassing an all-time high of over $48,000, the total value of these
institutional holdings has eclipsed $55 billion.
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In the list below are many of the well-known entities who have entered the world of cryptocurrency, either by
  adopting Bitcoin reserves internally, becoming active managers of sizable crypto portfolios, or otherwise having
  substantial exposure to digital assets.

  Businesses Holding Bitcoin Reserves

1. Tesla - Run by the world’s richest person Elon Musk, the publicly traded automotive and clean energy company
  Tesla announced it had allocated $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin to its treasury reserve, making up 8% of the
  company’s $19.4 billion in cash and liquid assets. Musk also intends to accept Bitcoin as payment for its products in
  the near future. Musk’s latest announcement was not his rst foray into cryptocurrencies; the outspoken CEO had
  recently caused a surge in volume and price appreciation in both Dogecoin and Bitcoin with a series of cryptic
  Tweets.
2. MicroStrategy - Bitcoin’s institutional legitimacy was set in motion when the world’s largest publicly traded business
  intelligence company, MicroStrategy, announced a balance sheet allocation to Bitcoin worth an initial $250 million
  in August 2020. By the end of 2020, the company had amassed an aggregate of over 70,000 BTC after subsequent
  investments of $175 million in September, and another $50 million in December. MicroStrategy’s CEO Michael
  Saylor has become one of Bitcoin’s most visible proponents, and he recently hosted a well-attended “Bitcoin for
  Corporates” summit in which he spoke to over 2,000 guests from a variety of corporations on the advantages of
  emulating MicroStrategy’s capital allocation.

  Consequently, several of MicroStrategy’s largest shareholders have also attained indirect exposure to Bitcoin,
  including the sovereign wealth fund Norwegian Government Pension Fund (1.5%), American asset managers
  BlackRock (15.2%), The Vanguard Group (11.7%), as well as Renaissance Technologies (2%), owner of the
  Medallion funds considering Bitcoin futures. BlackRock is also reportedly adding Bitcoin as eligible investment to
  two of its funds: BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities and BlackRock Global Allocation Fund Inc.
3. Galaxy Digital Holdings - Former Goldman Sachs veteran and renowned Bitcoin bull Michael Novogratz’s Toronto
  Stock Exchange-listed asset management rm has a material holding in Bitcoin of $176.4 million as of September
  2020, according to nancial results revealed by the rm. In addition, Galaxy Digital acquired 2 cryptocurrency rms
  (Drawbridge Lending and Blue Fire Capital) to make way for bigger institutional demand for Bitcoin in November
  2020. Galaxy also launched a new business unit this January dedicated to o ering a suite of nancial services and
  products for Bitcoin miners. Novogratz, an early adopter of Bitcoin amongst institutional investors, is a frequent
  guest and commentator on various nancial media outlets where he gives his commentary on the asset and
  current developments in the crypto space.
4. MassMutual – In December 2020, 169-year old American insurance and nancial services giant MassMutual
  unveiled that it had invested $100 million into Bitcoin through the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG),

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along with a $5 million equity investment. Renowned for being a prudent investor, MassMutual’s entry into Bitcoin
   marks a new milestone for the digital asset, which may serve as a bellwether to other insurance companies and
   pension funds to follow it into the space. While it is unsurprising to see companies at the leading edge of
   technology like Tesla or PayPal embrace Bitcoin, seeing a centuries-old insurance monolith enter the space so
   emphatically may mark a true sea change.
 5. Marathon Patent Group - The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency mining company swapped $150 million of its cash
   treasury for 4,813 Bitcoin at the end of January 2021 through the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG).
   Formerly known as American Strategic Minerals Corporation, Marathon has enjoyed renewed relevance and a
   resurgent share price since the company shifted its business strategy to Bitcoin mining over the past year.
 6. Voyager Digital - A nancial statement ending on the 31st of March 2020 revealed crypto asset broker Voyager
   Digital’s digital asset holdings at $7 million worth of Bitcoin held at exchanges or by custodians. This Bitcoin
   accumulation closely follows the broker’s growing cryptocurrency trading on its mobile app in January 2020.
   Recently, the company announced that it seeks to raise $25 million from a private placement with agent Stifel GMP
   for business expansion, granting investors in the opportunity exposure to the company’s cryptocurrency holdings.
 7. Square Inc. – Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey moved approximately 1% of the total assets of digital payment
     rm Square Inc. into Bitcoin, announcing an investment of $50 million for 4,709 BTC in October 2020 via a press
   release. Explaining the move, Square suggested that “cryptocurrency is an instrument of economic empowerment.”
   This isn’t the rst of Square’s involvement with digital assets: Square’s Cash app has allowed users to buy and sell
   Bitcoin within its app since 2018. The rm has also established a consortium, the Cryptocurrency Open Patent
   Alliance (COPA), aimed at building up a collaborative library of patents for the advancement of crypto technologies.
 8. Hut 8 Mining - Toronto-listed Hut 8 Mining o ers quali ed investors direct exposure to Bitcoin through its mining
   operation and via its Bitcoin balance, investing over $36 million for 2,851 BTC in its treasury to date. Additionally,
   the mining company opened a Bitcoin Yield Account with Genesis Global Capital in January 2021 through an initial
   investment of 1,000 Bitcoin, entitling Hut 8 to a 4% interest on its BTC holdings. A recent announcement further
   unveiled the miner completed $11.8 million of nancing for 5,400 new Bitcoin mining machines.
 9. Snappa - Joining the ranks of major companies with disclosed Bitcoin holdings is Canadian graphics software rm
   Snappa. In a blog post, CEO Christopher Gimmer declared a robust 40% allocation of its cash reserves in Bitcoin,
   noting that Snappa seeks to continue amassing the digital coin.
10. Fidelity Digital Assets - Despite involvement in Bitcoin mining as early as 2014, the $2.3 trillion London-based
   investment rm Fidelity’s mining e orts is nowhere near as noteworthy as its 10.5% ownership stake in the publicly
   traded Bitcoin mining company Hut 8, with the rm disclosing it had purchased over 4.1 million mining units in a
   June 2020 overnight market o ering. Fidelity is also now accepting Bitcoin as collateral for cash loans, o ered by
   third-party lenders such as BlockFi and CME Bitcoin Futures.
11. Mode Global Holdings PLC - United Kingdom-listed Bitcoin banking app Mode Global Holdings PLC converted up to
   10% of its cash reserves into Bitcoin as part of a long-term treasury reserve strategy in October 2020 to protect its
   investors’ assets against the diminishing value of at currency.
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12. Riot Blockchain - During Bitcoin’s historic 2017 price run, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System,
   which manages over $450 billion in assets, initially purchased 16,907 of the Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin mining company’s
   shares, with a subsequent investment totalling to 113,034 shares valued at nearly $2 million. According to a
   quarterly report ending September 30 2020, Riot Blockchain has allocated 1,175 BTC on its balance sheet. Like
   Marathon and Hut 8, Riot has substantial Bitcoin mining operations. The Colorado-based company has a market
   cap of over $2.5 billion.
13. Hive Blockchain Technologies LTD. - Listed on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada, Hive utilizes geothermal and
   hydroelectric energy to power its industrial-scale cryptocurrency mining facilities in Canada, Sweden, and Iceland.
   As of a September 2020 investor presentation, Hive had $3.5 million in digital assets on its balance sheet, mostly in
   Bitcoin and Ethereum.
14. Argo Blockchain Plc - London-listed Argo Blockchain went public in 2018 and is yet another company engaged in
   mining Bitcoin and other digital assets. In a recent operational update, Argo reported that it had mined 2,465
   Bitcoins over the course of 2020. CEO Peter Wall is bullish on Bitcoin’s continued long-term adoption, stating that
   “The Bitcoin market has entered 2021 on a roll, and we are very optimistic this year will continue to see an
   increasing mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency. We look to the future with much optimism.”
   Funds Managing Bitcoin Assets

 1. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) - Leading nancial vehicle Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which allows investors to trade
   shares in trusts holding substantial amounts of Bitcoin, manages the largest portfolio of Bitcoin assets worth over
   600,000 BTC. While it largely mirrors Bitcoin’s performance, investor sentiment often plays a large role in the nal
   GBTC stock price and the shares can trade at a discount or premium to the net asset value of the BTC that the trust
   holds.
 2. Miller Value Partners LLC – Renowned investor Bill Miller’s investment rm Miller Value Partners LLC operates a
   $154 million hedge fund called MVP 1, which allocated 30% of this fund to Bitcoin in 2017. In 2018, Miller mentioned
   having half of his fund in Bitcoin before moving 90% of his Bitcoin holdings into a separate fund. As of February
   2021, it was reported that Miller’s fund now owns Bitcoin in a partnership called Patient Capital with his partner
   Samantha McLemore.
 3. Tudor Investment Group - Billionaire investor and hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones announced in May 2020
   that 1-2% of his total assets worth $5.3 billion have been invested into Bitcoin. In a December 2020 interview, Jones,
   once a critic of digital assets, expressed his newfound optimism regarding the virtual coin, citing purchasing power,
   trustworthiness, liquidity, and portability as grounds for Bitcoin being a sustainable store of value. As one of the
   most well-known and visible hedge fund veterans on Wall Street, Jones’ public endorsement of Bitcoin as a viable
   portfolio component bestowed a new level of acceptance and respect for BTC amongst more traditional hedge
   funds and institutional investors.
 4. CoinShares - Founded in 2015, cryptocurrency fund manager CoinShares owns 69,730 BTC across 2 exchange-
   traded funds: Bitcoin Tracker One and Bitcoin Tracker Euro. In 2021, CoinShares listed a Bitcoin-backed Exchange
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Traded Product (ETP) called CoinShares Physical Bitcoin on SIX, Switzerland’s main stock exchange.
 5. Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund - The open-ended publicly traded statutory trust launched by Bitwise Asset
   Management tracks 10 of the biggest cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin making up 75% of the fund in November 2020
   according to its website. The Fund has also announced that it is seeking regulatory veri cation to publicly trade its
   shares in an e ort to compete with other investment vehicles like Grayscale.
 6. Pantera Capital - Pantera Capital’s Pantera Bitcoin Fund was the rst United States-based Bitcoin fund ever
   launched. It services business entities as well as high-net-worth individuals with large sums of Bitcoin, with over 70
   investments made since 2013. While there has not been a public disclosure of the amount of Bitcoin Pantera holds,
   a January 2021 article by the investment rm itself declared that its Bitcoin fund gained +299% in returns. Pantera’s
   CEO and co-CIO Dan Morehead, a Goldman Sachs and Tiger Management veteran, is a leading voice on Bitcoin and
   other digital assets, having notably established a $100,000 BTC price target for August 2021.
 7. Ru er Investment Company - London Stock Exchange-listed Ru er Investment Company converted 2.7% of its $27
   billion portfolio to 45,000 BTC in November 2020, citing the investment as a “protective move” and a hedge against
   “a fragile monetary system and distorted nancial markets”.
 8. Guggenheim Partners - Though nancial services company Guggenheim Partners does not directly own Bitcoin,
   the company has reserved the right to set aside over $500 million or 10% of its $5.3 billion Macro Opportunities
   Fund for investment in GBTC. Guggenheim’s well-known CIO Scott Minerd forecast that Bitcoin will eventually top
   $400,000 on numerous occasions.
 9. 3iQ The Bitcoin Fund - Canadian investment fund 3iQ’s public Bitcoin fund recently completed private placements
   to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. As of January 2021, the fund is now worth over $785 million in assets
   under management, e ectively doubling its Bitcoin holding value from $392.5 million in November 2020.
10. ETC Group Bitcoin ETP - London-based nancial services rm ETC Group’s Bitcoin exchange traded product (ETP),
   with primary stock symbol BTCE, was recently listed on the SIX, Switzerland’s primary stock exchange, in January
   2021. ETC Group now holds 13,445.998 BTC in assets under management, according to the rm’s website. Unlike
   Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, ETC enables both issuance and redemption of assets, much like an ETF.
11. SkyBridge Capital - After ling SEC documents to open its rst Bitcoin fund called SkyBridge Bitcoin Fund LP in
   December 2020, follow-on reporting con rmed the investment rm has acquired an additional $182 million in
   Bitcoin prior to o cial the launch of the hedge fund on January 4th, 2021.
12. One River Asset Management - One River Asset Management purchased $600 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum in
   December 2020 for its Bitcoin Fund and Ethereum Fund. The rm also plans to boost its cryptocurrency holdings to
   $1 billion in 2021.
   Educational Investments

 1. Harvard University - As the largest university endowment - which are capital pools accumulated to support
   teaching, research, and other investments - of over $40 billion in assets, the Ivy League school’s in uential
   management rm, Harvard Management Company, invested $11.5 million into cryptocurrency-related company
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Blockstack in 2019. This may not have been the rst time the university had been associated with cryptocurrency,
  as multiple sources have reported that a portion of the university’s assets have been allocated in crypto via
  exchanges.
2. Yale University - Yale’s Chief Investment O cer David Swensen broke headlines in 2018 for backing 2 crypto
  venture funds: a $300 million fund by Andreessen Horowitz, and Paradigm by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam
  and ex-Sequoia Capital partner Matt Huang. Subsequently, several other institutions jumped on board, including
  Harvard University, Stanford, Dartmouth College, MIT, the University of North Carolina, and the University of
  Michigan. Several sources have maintained that the university has had a portion of its $30 billion endowment
  invested in Bitcoin.
3. University of Michigan - In 2018, the University of Michigan’s $12.5 billion endowment fund committed $3 million
  to Andreessen Horowitz’s cryptocurrency fund a16z Crypto before later expressing its intention to allocate even
  more money into the fund. While no exact amount has been revealed, the university’s endowment fund has also
  been reported to be holding cryptocurrency via exchanges.
4. Brown University - While Brown University kept mum when pressed for comments, Brown University’s $4.7 billion
  endowment fund is rumored to be purchasing cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin directly through exchanges.
  Bitcoin’s mainstream acceptance stands to grow exponentially as more institutional investors embrace
  cryptocurrencies, clearing the way for future entrants to follow their path. This escalating market demand from
  large entities will likely continue impacting Bitcoin’s value, and may even serve to mitigate its volatility. With the nal
  Bitcoin expected to be mined in 2140 and over $2 trillion of monthly trade volume, there’s still plenty of time to
  enter Bitcoin - for businesses and individuals alike. While the adoption of Bitcoin amongst institutional investors,
  corporations, and endowment funds has already accelerated rapidly, we are likely only at the tip of the iceberg in
  terms of mass adoption as additional corporations and funds see the success that these rst movers have enjoyed
  and thus begin to follow their lead.

  If you’re interested in joining these rst movers and making Bitcoin a part of your portfolio, contact BitGo to learn
  more.

  Disclaimer: Data cited above current as of publication date. BitGo is not a liated with any of
  the entities listed above, and the information provided is not a testimonial in support of any
  entity or recommendation for any services. No legal, tax, investment, or other advice is
  provided by any BitGo entity.

  About BitGo

  BitGo is the leader in digital asset nancial services, providing institutional investors with liquidity, custody, and
  security solutions. In 2020, BitGo launched Prime Trading and Lending, as well as BitGo Portfolio and Tax, providing

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clients with a full-stack solution for digital assets. In 2018, it launched BitGo Trust Company, the rst quali ed
custodian purpose-built for storing digital assets. BitGo processes over 20% of all global Bitcoin transactions, and
supports over 400 coins and tokens. BitGo’s customer base includes the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges
and institutional investors and spans more than 50 countries. BitGo is backed by Goldman Sachs, Craft Ventures,
Digital Currency Group, DRW, Galaxy Digital Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, and Valor Equity Partners.

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tax, investment, or other advice is provided by any BitGo entity. Please consult your legal/tax/investment
professional for questions about your speci c circumstances. Digital asset holdings involve a high degree of risk,
and can uctuate greatly on any given day. Accordingly, your digital asset holdings may be subject to large swings in
value and may even become worthless.

Michelle Marin
press@bitgo.com

Source: BitGo

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