Apparently there are a bunch of MSTR copy-cats around the world:
Pharmaceutical companies and advertisers are among 78 listed companies around the world that are following the US group’s example in buying the coins to hold in place of cash, according to data from crypto security company Coinkite.
Didn't know! We knew of Metaplanet (top stock return of 2024?) and the BTC Inc involvement, so that's not too surprising to me, but that many companies indeed shocks me.
And apparently, the playbook works. By EMH (#875931) it shouldn't really. Here's U.S. smallcap thermal energy management company KULR Tech:
KULR has since bought 510 bitcoin, equivalent to about $51mn. Its shares, which had languished over the past year or so, had almost quadrupled by late December, and are still up around 50 per cent since it said it would buy the coins.
And the stock price? Very MSTR-like:
Some, like MicroStrategy, are tapping investors for funds with the intention of buying bitcoin. This week, chronic disease detection company Semler Scientific said it had bought 871 bitcoins for $88.5mn using a convertible bond issued in January, and after monetising an investment. Its shares have soared around 120 per cent since adopting the cryptocurrency as its “primary treasury asset”.
Not sure how the "fight-back-against-short-sellers" (#867043) is gonna work out, but OK:
Others see buying bitcoin as an opportunity to navigate more pressing issues. OneMedNet, a microcap US healthcare data company, began buying bitcoin last July to fight back against what it saw as short sellers depressing its stock.
It's a crazy world out there
non-paywalled: https://archive.md/h5PHs