Genius Group kicks off Bitcoin treasury play with $10M in BTC 
2024-11-19

Artificial intelligence firm Genius Group has taken the first steps to turn most of its treasury reserves into Bitcoin, purchasing 110 Bitcoin for $10 million — and wants to teach other firms to do the same. 
According to a Nov. 18 statement from the firm, it purchased at an average price of $90,932 per Bitcoin BTCUSD, the first in “ongoing purchases the Company intends to make towards its target.”
On Nov. 12, the AI firm said they were committing 90% or more of its current and future reserves to be held in Bitcoin with an initial target of $120 million.
Roger Hamilton, CEO of Genius Group, said that when they decided to follow MicroStrategy’s treasury plan, they didn’t have a clear blueprint, so they are launching a podcast on Nov. 19 to help others considering Bitcoin as a treasury reserve.
“When Genius Group decided to adopt MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin treasury plan, there was no clear guidelines available for companies to easily follow,” he said.
Genius Group’s (GNS) stock price has experienced a slight uptick since the initial announcement to adopt Bitcoin.
Its shares closed Nov. 18’s trading session up over 22% for the month at $0.91, according to Google Finance. 
However, the stock price is still down slightly from the $1.05 it hit the next trading session after the announcement, and a far cry from all-time highs of $96.80 set in June 2022.
Bitcoin race heats up as firms increase holdings
Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy acquired an additional 51,780 Bitcoin worth $4.6 billion on Nov. 18, boosting its total holdings to 331,200.
The company also flagged plans to raise $1.75 billion to buy more Bitcoin from senior convertible notes at a 0% interest rate.
Other firms have also seized on the Bitcoin reserve idea this year. 
On Nov. 18, tech solution provider Semler Scientific said it had acquired an additional 215 Bitcoin for $17.7 million in cash between Nov. 6 and 15, increasing total holdings to 1,273.
Japanese investment firm Metaplanet holds over 1,000 Bitcoin at the moment but announced in a Nov. 17 post to X that it would snap up more Bitcoin as well.
The firm plans to issue one-year ordinary bonds with a guarantee totaling $11.3 million (1.75 billion Japanese yen) to help fund its Bitcoin ambitions.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin mining firm MARA Holdings Inc (MARA), previously Marathon Digital, also shared that it was offering $700 million in convertible senior notes to acquire more Bitcoin.
According to the miner’s Nov. 18 press release, up to $200 million of the proceeds are to repurchase part of its outstanding 2026 convertible notes, while the remaining funds will be used to accumulate Bitcoin, expand, repay debt and other general needs.