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Author: Dongdong, Source: Crypto Wesearch
Since MicroStrategy became the first listed company to establish Bitcoin reserves in 2020, not only Bitcoin has continued to hit new highs, but the stock price of MicroStrategy has also risen more than 20 times in the past five years, and more and more companies have followed up on this game.Enterprise-level coin buying trend”.Currently, more than 890,000 Bitcoins are held by listed companies, worth approximately US$105 billion.
The trend has also extended to other crypto assets, and recently the so-called “ETHMicro Strategy Moment”: Listed company SharpLink Gaming, Inc. announced the launch of its ETH reserve strategy in June 2025. In less than two months, it has accumulated 360,000 ETH, surpassing the Ethereum Foundation’s holdings.It is not only the only one who launched the ETH reserve strategy. Currently, listed companies around the world hold about 1 million ETH, with a total value of about 3.7 billion US dollars.
After announcing the crypto reserve strategy, the stock prices of companies such as Sharpling Gaming and Bitmine, which represent this wave of ETH reserves, all rose in a short period of time (all of which rose nearly thirty times at the highest).
And this is just the beginning.
But why can these listed companies continue to buy a large amount of coins?Where does the money come from?
This article will introduce four common capital tools for listed companies:PIPE, ATM, CB, SPAC, explain their operating principles, risk impact, and actual cases related to the currency circle.
PIPE, ATM, CB, SPAC: Description and case of four capital tools for listed companies
The key essence of the “enterprise-level coin buying trend” and “crypto-reservation companies”: buying coins requires money, and if you don’t have money, you have to raise funds and raise funds to buy coins.
Listed companies can raise funds from the capital market, usually by using stocks (or convertible bonds) to exchange for money and then using money to buy coins. Take the example of a currency circle.PIPE (Private equity capital increase), ATM (Market price capital increase), CB (Issuance of convertible corporate bonds), SPAC(Special purpose merger and acquisition company)They are four capital tools, or financing methods that are often seen in the news.
PIPE (Private Equity Capital Increase)
PIPE, full name Private Investment in Public Equity (private equity investment in public equity), is a kind of “Private equity capital increase”.
Listed companies privately sell stocks, convertible bonds, convertible preferred stocks, or other financial products to specific institutions or investors, and skip the open market process.
The biggest feature of PIPE is that it can quickly negotiate a large amount of fundraising.The private equity process is simpler than public capital increase. After the two parties agree on the conditions, they can sign a contract and remittance and share capital increase.If the company wants to quickly build a position to buy coins, PIPE canGet a lot of money in one go”way.
One of the characteristics of PIPE is that there are usually discounts (lower than market price), and there may be other accompanying discount conditions, which are attractive to investors. Being able to acquire equity with better conditions can attract more capital investment, but this is not necessarily a good thing for the original shareholders.For example, because of selling at a discount, if there is no lock-up period limit, PIPE investors may sell arbitrage quickly, forming short-term selling pressure.
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Advantages: Simple process, can quickly get a large amount of funds
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Disadvantages: For companies, fundraising conditions may be poor and may face pressure from investors
This is suitable for thinkingEnter the market quickly to buy coins and build a position”The company can quickly obtain funds by using PIPE.For example, recently, SharpLink Gaming, Inc. raised 425 million US dollars through PIPE as the first investment in position building.
ATM (market price capital increase)
ATM, full name At-the-Market Offering (with the market capital increase), is a kind of “Market capital increase”, listed companies directly sell stocks at the current market price in the open market for cash.
Unlike PIPE, which is sold privately to a specific target, ATM is the company that slowly sells itself in the open market, and unlike PIPE, which can involve a variety of financial products, ATM is the common stock that has been listed and issued.
The advantage of ATM is that it is highly independent, flexible and flexible. Companies can decide whether to sell every day based on the market share price situation?How much do you want to sell?If the stock price is low, you can pause and accelerate the sale when it rises.The disadvantage is that you cannot get a large amount of funds at once. Everything depends on the situation of selling stocks, which is suitable for thinking about “Buy coins in batches”The pace of financing can match the stock price trend.
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Advantages: No bargaining, any sale, high flexibility, continuous capital
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Disadvantages: Only sell stocks, create selling pressure by yourself (but the news is usually sold out when it comes out), and the financing speed is slow
The representative of using ATM to raise funds to buy coins is Micro-Strategy. It continues to sell stocks in the market and combines the methods of publicly issuing convertible corporate bonds to continuously raise funds to buy coins from the open market, and continues to raise funds to buy coins, which is very consistent with the strategy of micro-Strategy to keep buying and buying.
So far in 2025 alone, MicroStrategies has raised more than 4 billion US dollars in the market and bought Bitcoin. It has currently held more than 600,000 Bitcoins. It is the single institution that holds the most Bitcoins in addition to BlackRock’s iBIT (Bitcoin ETF).
CB convertible corporate bonds (borrow money, but may not need to pay it back)
CB, full name Convertible Bonds (convertible corporate bond).In essence, it is a debt, it isThe company borrows money from the market”, but this debt comes with an option: you can pay back the money in the future or convert it into stocks.
If the debt expires and the stock price does not rise, the creditor will ask to repay the money. If the stock price rises, the creditor will convert it into stocks to make more money.CB can also be sold privately to specific objects through the PIPE method introduced earlier (this part overlaps a bit), or operate independently in the open market.
The main advantages of CB are two:
Interest rates are usually lower– Investors are willing to accept lower interest in exchange for future opportunities to convert into stocks.
Maybe you don’t have to pay back the money– When the stock price rises and investors choose to convert stocks, the company does not need to repay the principal.
The representative of using CB to raise money to buy coins is a micro-strategy. In the early days, it often raised funds through public offering of CB. In recent years, with the rise of Bitcoin, MSTR’s stock price has also risen sharply before it turned to ATMs more. ATMs are selling stocks to raise funds, and rising stock prices are beneficial to ATMs.
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Advantages: low interest rates, borrow first, maybe you don’t have to pay back, and the selling pressure will be long after
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Disadvantages: If the stock price does not rise, the company still has to pay back the money; if converted into stocks, it will also dilute the equity.
Convertible bonds are not “direct capital increase” like PIPE or ATM. They are debts at the beginning and will not dilute shares immediately. Even if the stock price rises later and investors choose to convert stocks, dilution will happen in the future.
It is more suitable for companies that are optimistic about future development, but the current conditions are not so good.
SPAC special purpose merger and acquisition company (backed listing)
SPAC, full name Special Purpose Acquisition Company (special purpose merger and acquisition company), first listing, then looking for a company to acquire, essentially “Backdoor listing”.
Operation logic: A SPAC company first conducts IPO fundraising, usually without actual operations, just puts the money into a trust account.In the next 1-2 years, find an unlisted, substantial operational company to merge (De-SPAC).Once the merger is successful, the company that is acquired can obtain the listing qualification of SPAC, which is equivalent to “Indirect listing”.
SPAC is not a “coin-buying tool”, but a fast channel to enter the open capital market.The traditional listing process is complex and time-consuming. Through SPAC mergers, you can quickly enter the capital market and then raise funds through ATM or PIPE.
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Advantages: Quick listing, valuation improvement, flexibility in fundraising conditions and financing capabilities
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Disadvantages: It is possible to fail to go public and have high investment risks
Currently, US President Trump, his Trump Media Technology Group, is listed through SPAC, with the stock code DJT.
SPAC is a way to go public. After listing, it enjoys better financing conditions and pipelines, and then uses PIPE, CB, ATM and other methods to raise funds.
summary
Listed companies enter the market to buy a large amount of coins and reserve a large amount of money, of course, not relying on their own cash flow, but using capital market tools to raise funds quickly and large amounts.
PIPE is a large amount of funds negotiated, ATM sells stocks in batches, CB is borrowing money that does not have to be repaid, and SPAC is a shortcut to listing quickly.
Different capital tools represent different fundraising rhythms and conditions, and to some extent, they can also reflect the market’s judgment on the stage and future. For ordinary investors in the currency circle, the most worrying thing is that a certain crypto reserve company will burst on one day and must sell coins to repay debts, which will have a huge impact on the crypto market.
Among them, the one with the most chance of this risk is CB. If the company transforms into a crypto reserve strategy and the stock price performs poorly, and does not convert into stocks when the debt expires but requires repayment, it may be necessary to sell coins to repay debts.
Other methods involve equity, so there will be no problem, and the only impact will be the company’s stock price.
