BTCs (not to be confused with the cryptocurrency itself) are publicly listed firms that raise money through stocks and/or bonds to actively grow the bitcoin strategic reserves on their balance sheet. Although still a niche trend, their rise shows that more institutions see bitcoin as a long-term way to protect against inflation and economic uncertainty.
BTCs also give retail and institutional investors a way to gain bitcoin exposure through the stock or bond markets. This is especially useful for those who can’t invest in bitcoin directly due to tax wrapper restrictions or investment mandate restrictions. For pension schemes, BTCs signal an early shift in how companies and markets think about protecting long-term value.
Sam Roberts, Director, commented: “We’re not suggesting all pension schemes should suddenly start buying bitcoin, but trustees and sponsors do need to understand the implications of this tectonic monetary shift on their specific circumstances. BTCs reflect a broader move among some corporates to rethink how they store value, hedge risk, and engage with digital monetary infrastructure to grow and strengthen their operating business. For pension trustees, this directly impacts covenant strength, portfolio risk, and long-term strategy.
“Just like Exchange Traded Funds opened up access to gold, BTCs are creating a new way for investors to tap into bitcoin’s long-term store of value qualities.”
Roberts added: “Roughly 0.1% of companies could become BTCs. The other 99.9% should instead consider how to integrate bitcoin into their existing business models in meaningful and risk managed ways. For pension trusts, their main considerations are likely to be:
- Risk Register Updates - Trustees should reassess risk registers to consider scenarios where companies begin allocating treasury reserves to bitcoin, or fail to do so when industry peers do, potentially affecting long-term covenant strength and the quality of their asset portfolio.
- Collateral and Liquidity Innovation - Bitcoin may evolve into a globally recognised collateral layer. This could improve liquidity and be used to hedge system-specific risks, influencing asset allocation and funding strategy.
- Covenant and Sponsor Health - As BTC adoption grows within certain sectors, schemes should monitor sponsor activity. Companies that fail to adapt may become more vulnerable to inflation or disintermediation. Also, using the bitcoin network as a payment rail enables faster, lower-cost domestic and cross-border payments that could reshape corporate financial infrastructure over time.”
Roberts concluded: “We strongly encourage trustees to look at these implications for their own investment strategy and the Sponsor’s covenant strength, starting with a thorough risk register review. The question is no longer if bitcoin deserves consideration—but how and when. Companies don’t need to become BTCs to benefit from bitcoin’s emergence, but ignoring bitcoin’s growing influence could leave portfolios exposed to the blind spots of an outdated and creaking monetary system. Trustees and Sponsors have a fiduciary duty to understand it, not ignore it.”
