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Public companies have added nearly 100,000 Bitcoin to their balance sheets during the first quarter of 2025, pushing total corporate Bitcoin holdings to a staggering 688,000 BTC worth $56.7 billion. According to data from crypto fund issuer Bitwise, this represents a 16% increase in total crypto holdings by publicly traded companies.

12 New Corporate Buyers Enter The Market

The Bitcoin buying spree wasn’t limited to existing crypto investors. Twelve public companies purchased Bitcoin for the first time during Q1, bringing the total number of Bitcoin-holding public firms to 79.

Hong Kong construction firm Ming Shing led new buyers, with its subsidiary Lead Benefit acquiring 833 BTC through two separate purchases – an initial 500 BTC buy in January followed by 333 BTC in February.

Video platform Rumble ranked as the second-largest new buyer, adding 188 BTC to its treasury in mid-March. In a move that stunned market watchers, Hong Kong investment firm HK Asia Holdings Limited purchased just one Bitcoin in February – a modest investment that still caused its share price to almost double in a single day of trading.

Companies are buying bitcoin, Q1 2025 edition. pic.twitter.com/qZc62N8vu5

— Bitwise (@BitwiseInvest) April 14, 2025

Japanese Firm Acquires At A Discount

While new entrants made headlines, existing Bitcoin holders also strengthened their positions. Japanese investment firm Metaplanet announced on April 14 that it had purchased an additional 319 BTC at an average price of 11.8 million yen (about $82,770) per coin.

This latest purchase brings Metaplanet’s total Bitcoin holdings to 4,525 BTC, currently valued at approximately $383.2 million. The company has spent nearly $406 million (58.145 billion yen) building its crypto stack.

Based on current holdings, Metaplanet now ranks as the 10th largest public company crypto holder worldwide, sitting behind Jack Dorsey’s Block, Inc., which holds 8,480 BTC.

BTC reclaiming the green zone in the last week. Source: Coingecko

Bitcoin Price Recovers After Brief Slump

Bitcoin trades at around $85,787 as of April 15, showing a decent performance over the past 24 hours according to CoinGecko data. The cryptocurrency has gained roughly 2.5% since the end of Q1 on March 31.

The price has bounced back from a brief drop below $75,000 on April 7. That temporary decline came after a broader market selloff triggered by a new round of global tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump.

The growing corporate interest in the top crypto comes as more companies look to diversify their treasury holdings. The combined value of public companies’ Bitcoin rose about 2.3% during the first quarter, reaching nearly $57 billion with BTC priced at $82,400 by quarter’s end.

Featured image from Crews Bank, chart from TradingView

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Bolivia’s Ministry of Trade and Imports has rejected a state-backed plan to use cryptocurrency for fuel imports.

This move, which marks a stunning policy reversal, signals a retreat from the government’s recent push to adopt digital assets as a workaround for dollar shortages.

Bolivia Rejects Crypto-for-Fuel Scheme Amid Energy Sector Turmoil

The initial plan, announced in March by Bolivia’s state-owned energy giant YPFB, aimed to use crypto to secure fuel imports. This was in response to acute shortages of both US dollars and refined fuel.

As reported by Reuters on March 13, the proposal had received government backing at the time.

But in a statement released Tuesday, Director of Trade and Imports Marcos Duran clarified that YPFB will not be permitted to use crypto for international transactions.

“YPFB must use Bolivia’s own resources and dollar-based financial transfers,” Duran said.

Head of digital assets at VanEck, Mathew Sigel, labels this a clear U-turn on crypto policy.

“U-Turn: Bolivia appears to back away from its crypto-for-fuel scheme,” Sigel quipped.

According to the latest CoinShares research, crypto outflows hit $795 million last week. This marks the third consecutive week of negative flows, as financial uncertainty continues to weigh heavy on investor sentiment.

This report aligns with the outlook for Bitcoin spot ETFs (exchange-traded funds), which saw $713 million in outflows last week, a 314% surge from the prior week’s $172.69 million.

Crypto Outflows Reached $795 Million Last Week

CoinShares’ researcher James Butterfill reveals that while Bitcoin led the outflows at $751 million, some altcoins, including XRP, Ondo Finance (ONDO), Algorand (ALGO, and Avalanche (AVAX), managed positive flows.

It suggests investors adjust their investment strategies, pivoting to altcoins as broader economic chaos bombards the Bitcoin (BTC) market.  

“…recent tariff activity continues to weigh on sentiment towards the asset class,” wrote Butterfill.

This trend is not new, as altcoins have outperformed Bitcoin on flow metrics in the past. Two weeks ago, altcoins broke a five-week streak of negative flows, catapulting crypto inflows to $226 million.

Meanwhile, the influence of Trump’s tariffs on digital asset investment products has been consistent. In the week ending April 7, crypto outflows hit $240 million in the backdrop of Trump’s trade chaos.

Investor sentiment took a particularly sharp turn after President Donald Trump’s tariff pause announcement sidelined China, reigniting fears of a US-China trade war. This spooked markets across traditional and digital assets, along with China’s retaliatory move, exacerbates the sentiment.

Nevertheless, despite sidelining China, Trump’s temporary rollback of tariffs helped lift assets under management (AuM) by 8% to $130 billion, up from the lowest point seen since November 2024.

“… a late-week price rebound helped lift total AuM from their lowest point on April 8 (the lowest since early November 2024) to $130 billion, marking an 8% increase following President Trump’s temporary reversal of the economic calamitous tariffs,” Butterfill added.

Bitcoin Bleeds, ETF Flows Confirm Sentiment

As indicated, Bitcoin bore the brunt of last week’s bearish turn. Outflows surged in line with a 314% week-over-week increase in Bitcoin ETF outflows. The consistent bleed highlights that institutional interest is cooling, particularly among US-based ETF providers.

Short-Bitcoin products also suffered, with $4.6 million in outflows. This suggests traders may retreat to the sidelines entirely rather than taking leveraged bets on downside movement.

CoinShares emphasized that last week’s outflows spanned multiple regions and product providers. This signals that the bearish tone is not isolated to any one market. It aligns with broader risk-off behavior across equities and commodities in response to the volatile US trade stance.

Trump’s unpredictable tariff moves have reintroduced uncertainty into a fragile macro environment. Crypto markets, particularly institutional products, are responding with a broad withdrawal of capital.