This Healthcare Technology Provider Just Made Bitcoin Its Primary Treasury Reserve Asset

Bitcoin adoption is spreading beyond the traditional finance sector to other areas, such as healthcare. A company that services healthcare entities just announced that it has made the leading digital currency its primary treasury reserve asset.

According to a press release, Semler Scientific, a U.S.-based developer of technology products for healthcare entities to combat chronic diseases, just adopted a Bitcoin treasury strategy due to the firm’s belief in the cryptocurrency being a “reliable store of value.”

In addition to adopting a Bitcoin treasury strategy, Semler announced that it has purchased 581 bitcoins (BTC) for roughly $40 million, including fees and expenses. 

Semler Adopts Bitcoin Treasury Strategy

Before the decision was made, Semler Scientific’s chairman, Eric Semler, revealed that the company’s board of directors and senior management examined its potential use of excess cash. After evaluating several alternatives, including acquisitions and gold, they agreed that Bitcoin was the best option.

“Our bitcoin treasury strategy and purchase of bitcoin underscore our belief that bitcoin is a reliable store of value and a compelling investment. Bitcoin is now a major asset class with more than $1 trillion of market value. We believe it has unique characteristics as a scarce and finite asset that can serve as a reasonable inflation hedge and safe haven amid global instability,” Semler stated.

Semler’s decision was substantiated by the growing acceptance of Bitcoin by traditional finance firms and U.S. authorities, as seen in the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) earlier this year by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

Disclosures by U.S. firms for Q1 2024 revealed that nearly 1,000 institutions, including global banks, pensions, and investment advisors, have significant exposure to the ETFs. At the time of writing, an estimated 10% of all bitcoins in circulation are held by institutions.

Growing Bitcoin Adoption

Semler’s latest move has added the company to a growing list of firms who see Bitcoin’s long-term potential and have made it their primary reserve asset. 

Michael Saylor’s business intelligence firm MicroStrategy set the pace and has accumulated 214,400 BTC worth roughly $7.6 billion. Most recently, Japan’s crypto investment and consulting firm Metaplanet adopted the same strategy in response to the country’s persistent economic issues. Similarly, U.S.-based seafood company Beck & Bulow has adopted a Bitcoin payment system and made the cryptocurrency its primary reserve asset.