Share this article
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.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
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
Plus pour vous
Exchange Review - March 2025
CoinDesk Data's monthly Exchange Review captures the key developments within the cryptocurrency exchange market. The report includes analyses that relate to exchange volumes, crypto derivatives trading, market segmentation by fees, fiat trading, and more.
Ce qu'il:
Trading activity softened in March as market uncertainty grew amid escalating tariff tensions between the U.S. and global trading partners. Centralized exchanges recorded their lowest combined trading volume since October, declining 6.24% to $6.79tn. This marked the third consecutive monthly decline across both market segments, with spot trading volume falling 14.1% to $1.98tn and derivatives trading slipping 2.56% to $4.81tn.
- Trading Volumes Decline for Third Consecutive Month: Combined spot and derivatives trading volume on centralized exchanges fell by 6.24% to $6.79tn in March 2025, reaching the lowest level since October. Both spot and derivatives markets recorded their third consecutive monthly decline, falling 14.1% and 2.56% to $1.98tn and $4.81tn respectively.
- Institutional Crypto Trading Volume on CME Falls 23.5%: In March, total derivatives trading volume on the CME exchange fell by 23.5% to $175bn, the lowest monthly volume since October 2024. CME's market share among derivatives exchanges dropped from 4.63% to 3.64%, suggesting declining institutional interest amid current macroeconomic conditions.
- Bybit Spot Market Share Slides in March: Spot trading volume on Bybit fell by 52.1% to $81.1bn in March, coinciding with decreased trading activity following the hack of the exchange's cold wallets in February. Bybit's spot market share dropped from 7.35% to 4.10%, its lowest since July 2023.
More For You
Top Stories
