🏦 Bitcoin Fever Hits Corporate Boardrooms — Analysts Warn of Bubble Risk

From biotech labs to burger joints, struggling public companies are piling into Bitcoin like it’s the last lifeboat on the Titanic. The Financial Times says the rush could spark a market bubble big enough to rattle the entire crypto ecosystem.

📌 Quick Take

• 154 public companies now chasing Bitcoin, raising 98B+ in early 2025
• Industries: biotech, EVs, gold mining, hospitality, vaping — you name it
• Sequans Communications stock +160% after 384M BTC buy
• Trump family media firm raised 2B for Bitcoin
• Analysts: “Looks like the internet bubble of 1998 — but with sats”
• Bubble risk: premiums on Bitcoin-holding stocks, systemic crash fears

💣 The Corporate Crypto Pivot

As Bitcoin rips past record highs, CEOs in cash-strapped industries are suddenly moonlighting as crypto treasurers. In just months, the number of public companies raising billions to buy BTC has exploded from a handful to triple digits.

Why?

• Regulatory arbitrage: In places like the UK & Japan, where crypto ETFs are banned, investors treat Bitcoin-hoarding companies like proxy ETFs.
• Stock pump strategy: Buying BTC often spikes share prices faster than any business turnaround plan.

📈 Case Study: Sequans Communications

Three months ago, French semiconductor CEO Georges Karam wasn’t thinking Bitcoin. Then he saw a medical firm’s share price pop after a BTC buy — and changed course.

• Raised 384M via debt & equity
• Bought 2,317 BTC (270M)
• Stock price +160% post-purchase
• Now a self-declared BTC believer: “Bitcoin is here to stay.”

His inspiration? Michael Saylor, the Bitcoin evangelist who just dropped 2.5B on BTC — his company’s third-largest buy ever. Since 2020, Saylor’s stock is up 3,000%.

🚨 The Warning Signs

Analysts see echoes of the dot-com bubble:

“It’s going to end badly… as fast as these stocks have risen, they can fall just as quickly.” — Brian Estes, Off The Chain Capital

⚠️ Red flags:

• KULR Technology: Q1 loss of 9.4M, holds 1,021 BTC (120M) but trades at 198M market cap — a hefty premium.
• Plans to use BTC as collateral for loans, mortgages, and high-risk lending — the same playbook that fed the 2022 crash and FTX collapse.

🌊 The Next Wave

Hong Kong’s DDC Enterprise Limited plans to scoop up 10,000 BTC by year-end. Meanwhile, U.S., European, and Asian mid-caps are treating Bitcoin like corporate rocket fuel.

But here’s the catch: If BTC tanks, so do they — and the shock could ripple across both equity and crypto markets.

🧩 Bigger Picture

Bitcoin in corporate treasuries is no longer just a MicroStrategy flex — it’s a global trend. But with shaky balance sheets and sky-high premiums, the line between bull run and bubble burst is razor thin.

TL;DR

Public companies — even struggling ones — are raising billions to buy Bitcoin, inflating stock prices and investor hype. Analysts warn it’s starting to look like the 1998 dot-com bubble, with systemic risks if BTC turns south.