Bitcoin as Treasury: Strategic Reserve and DAT Companies

Bitcoin as treasury: from speculative asset to strategic reserve

Overview

Is it sustainable for companies to turn their treasury into Bitcoin? In this MERGE Madrid panel, Bybit, Roxom and Bit2Me analyze how Bitcoin moves from a speculative asset to a strategic reserve, the rise of digital asset treasury (DAT) companies, the role of volatility, and how the CFO's job changes when the treasury goes on-chain.

What you'll learn

• Fad or structural shift?: whether Bitcoin treasuries will normalize as gold once did
• Volatility as a feature: why it can be an advantage and not just a risk
• Hedge and signal: Bitcoin as a macro hedge and a corporate signaling tool
• The CFO's new role: from accounting to on-chain “orchestration”
• Bottlenecks: why the real brake is psychological rather than accounting
• Geographic differences: retail LatAm versus more institutional Europe and the UK

Session summary

Sustainable or a fad?: the panel debates whether cases like Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) or MetaPlanet, turned almost into Bitcoin “proxies”, are sustainable; the shared view is that this is the start of a structural shift that will normalize, always within the regulatory framework.

Volatility as an advantage: volatility is reclaimed as part of the beauty of markets and the cost of early adoption, noting that some pioneers have managed to “monetize” that volatility for their treasury.

Macro hedge and signal: it addresses Bitcoin as a hedge against currency wars and capital controls and as a cultural and strategic signal to investors and talent, a signal that matures as the market better understands what a Bitcoin treasury is.

The CFO's role: it argues that the finance function evolves from accounting to “orchestration”, since blockchain removes past problems and requires managing new pieces; El Salvador is cited as an example of managing reserves in Bitcoin.

Bottlenecks: it argues that the main brake is not accounting (which technology will solve) but the psychological framework inherited from the fiat world; Bitcoin is described as a “network asset” that requires a different mindset.

Geography and what's next: it discusses regional differences (LatAm more retail, Europe and the UK more institutional) and notes that, after the wave of treasury creation, the next question is what to do with that Bitcoin, with ideas such as building an economy on Bitcoin; next year is expected to be one of “normalization”.

Watch the full talk

Watch the full recording on MERGE's YouTube channel, with Bybit, Roxom and Bit2Me on Bitcoin treasury management.

FAQs

What is a DAT company?
It is a digital asset treasury company that holds a significant part of its balance sheet in assets such as Bitcoin, as set out in the panel.

Why is volatility seen as an advantage?
Because, according to the panel, it is part of how markets work and can bring yield and optionality to a treasury if managed well.

What is the main brake on adoption?
According to the talk, more than accounting, the brake is psychological: the mindset inherited from the fiat world.

Is this investment advice?
No. This content is informational and summarizes what was presented in the talk; the speakers themselves stress that nothing said is financial advice. Consult a professional for your specific situation.