Semler Scientific Adds More BTC Despite Falling Stock Price

Semler’s move is part of a broader corporate trend, with firms like South Korea’s K Wave Media also adopting aggressive Bitcoin treasury strategies. As a result, K Wave’s stock jumped 162% after announcing a $500 million crypto-focused share issuance. While this growing wave of corporate Bitcoin accumulation mirrors Metaplanet and Strategy’s playbook, Standard Chartered warned of potential risks, including valuation bubbles and future sell pressure if prices fall. Semler Scientific Bets Bigger on Bitcoin Medical technology company Semler Scientific continued to double down on its Bitcoin investment strategy with a new $20 million purchase of 185 BTC between May 23 and June 3. This latest acquisition brings Semler’s total Bitcoin holdings to 4,449 BTC, which was bought at an average price of $107,974 per coin. As of June 3, the company’s total investment in Bitcoin reached $410 million, with a market value of roughly $472.9 million. This is a 26.7% increase since Semler began accumulating the cryptocurrency in May of 2024. The new investment was disclosed in a June 4 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company previously added $50 million to its Bitcoin treasury in May and reported a separate $10 million BTC acquisition spread between February and April. Semler Scientific YTD stock price (Source: Google Finance ) Despite these purchases, Semler’s strategy has not resulted in a strong boost in investor confidence. Year-to-date, the company’s stock is down 33%, according to Google Finance. Still, since its initial Bitcoin strategy pivot announcement on May 29, 2024, its share price managed a modest 16% recovery. This could mean that investor sentiment remains cautious but somewhat responsive to Bitcoin’s performance. Across the broader market, firms betting on Bitcoin reserves are experiencing mixed results. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, has seen its share price climb 33% in 2025, while Japan-based Metaplanet’s stock soared by an impressive 265%. Bitcoin itself experienced a lot of volatility this year. While it is up 11.8% year-to-date and reached a record high of $112,000, it also faced sharp pullbacks by dipping below $77,000 due to macroeconomic concerns and trade tensions. BTC holdings (Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NET ) Data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET shows that around 3.4 million BTC are currently held in various treasuries. Exchange-traded funds and public companies account for the majority of these holdings, followed by national governments. K Wave Media Stock Soars on Bitcoin Pivot Meanwhile, South Korean entertainment powerhouse K Wave Media also recently took a bold leap into the world of digital assets by unveiling a major Bitcoin-centric strategy funded through a large securities purchase agreement. According to a June 4 announcement , the company secured a deal with Bitcoin Strategic Reserve KWM for the sale of up to $500 million in ordinary shares. The proceeds of this sale will be earmarked for building a crypto treasury heavily focused on Bitcoin. Co-interim CEO Ted Kim explained the philosophical foundation behind the move, and stated that embedding Bitcoin into the company’s core strategy reflects a commitment to decentralization, agility, and creating future-facing value. This pivot is very similar to the playbook of Japanese firm Metaplanet, whose share price skyrocketed after adopting a similar Bitcoin reserve model. The influence of these kinds of firms seems to be reshaping corporate finance in Asia, with K Wave Media now aiming to position itself as the “Metaplanet of Korea.” K Wave Media stock price over the past 24 hours (Source: Google Finance ) Market reaction to the announcement was very quick. After the announcement was made, K Wave Media’s stock surged by 162% on Nasdaq, reaching $5.04. This means that there is certainly some investor enthusiasm around the company’s new direction. Since then, the company’s stock dropped back to a price of $4.48. The proceeds from the share issuance will be directed primarily toward the purchasing, long-term holding, and yield optimization of Bitcoin, though the company also indicated potential interest in other cryptocurrencies. Beyond treasury accumulation, K Wave Media’s broader vision includes operating Bitcoin Lightning Network nodes and investing in the infrastructure that is necessary to reward on-chain activity and drive decentralization. Overall, these moves aim to deepen the company’s integration into the Bitcoin ecosystem and further solidify its digital asset footprint. Part of K Wave’s announcement In addition to its crypto treasury initiative, K Wave Media also plans to leverage the funding for mergers and acquisitions to boost its core entertainment and K-POP ventures. The fusion of digital assets with cultural exports places K Wave Media at the forefront of a growing list of public companies that are embracing Bitcoin as a strategic financial reserve. Standard Chartered Warns of Bitcoin Treasury Risks The trend of publicly traded companies adopting Bitcoin as a treasury asset continues to grow as there are now 61 firms holding a combined 673,897 BTC, or 3.2% of all Bitcoin that will ever exist. This is according to a report by Standard Chartered. The data was shared on June 3 by the bank’s global head of digital asset research, Geoff Kendrick, and it revealed both the accelerating pace of institutional Bitcoin accumulation and the emerging risks tied to this strategy. Standard Chartered’s Bitcoin report Kendrick explained that while corporate Bitcoin treasuries are currently contributing to buying pressure, they could eventually become a source of downside price risk and increased volatility. One of the reasons for this is that 50% of these companies purchased Bitcoin at an average price of more than $90,000. This is far above the average acquisition price of Strategy’s massive 580,955 BTC reserve, which was obtained at around $70,023 per coin. If Bitcoin experiences another extended downturn, many of these new holders could find themselves underwater, which could trigger sell pressure. Standard Chartered’s analysis also pointed out that 58 of the 61 companies studied have net asset value (NAV) multiples above 1. This means that their market valuation exceeds the value of their underlying assets. While this may currently be sustained by market inefficiencies like regulatory limitations and institutional hesitance, Kendrick warned that once these inefficiencies diminish, the valuations could adjust unfavorably. Interestingly, Kendrick also shared that “Strategy imitators” have greatly increased their pace of acquisition by doubling their collective holdings from under 50,000 BTC to about 100,000 BTC in just two months. Though Strategy itself added 74,000 BTC during the same period, the volume and speed of purchases from new entrants caught his attention. New companies continue to join the movement. On June 3, Canadian renewable energy firm SolarBank disclosed its Bitcoin treasury plans, including the opening of a Coinbase Prime account for custody and stablecoin services. On the same day, Paris-based Blockchain Group announced a $68 million Bitcoin acquisition, and Norwegian brokerage K33 revealed a $6.2 million raise to purchase BTC in late May. Although Standard Chartered’s study included 61 public companies, the broader data from BitcoinTreasuries.net suggests over 124 companies are currently holding Bitcoin. This includes a growing number of international firms seeking to emulate Strategy’s high-profile approach. Despite the concerns that were raised, people like Michael Saylor, co-founder of Strategy, remain steadfast. Saylor insists that even in a scenario where Bitcoin’s value drops by 90% for several years, Strategy’s capital structure will remain resilient enough to withstand the downturn. Similarly, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao weighed in on the topic by saying that while adopting Bitcoin carries risks, the greater risk lies in avoiding risk altogether.

Source: Coinpaper