Beyond Bitcoin: Some Innovative Blockchain Strategies

As OPTO recently detailed, a number of companies have followed Strategy’s [MSTR] example by buying up large amounts of bitcoin [BTC].

It is quite a varied list: alongside Trump Media & Technology Group [DJT] and GameStop [GME], companies including Alliance Resource Partners [ARLP], a US coal producer; Semler Scientific [SMLR], a medtech firm; and Japanese hotel chain Metaplanet [MTPLF] have all invested in BTC as a treasury reserve asset. 

They have not all met with success using this strategy. The Metaplanet share price tanked earlier this week, for instance. 

Other companies have been buying ethereum [ETH], the second-biggest cryptocurrency. As such, it is even more volatile than BTC, but has significant potential, particularly if its trajectory mirrors that of its older sibling.

For instance, Bitmine Immersion Technologies [BMNR], Bit Digital [BTBT] and Sharplink Gaming [SBET] have all adopted ethereum as their primary corporate treasury asset. 

They cite ETH’s utility, staking potential and long-term financial value. Nonetheless, all three firms have reported substantial net losses.

Regardless of the wisdom of such strategies, one thing is certain: they only scratch the surface of blockchain’s potential as a way to raise funds. 

Other Cryptocurrencies Are Available

One obvious way to go beyond the BTC/ETH duopoly is by investing in coins that are not yet widely available to retail investors in the US. The hope is that, by hitching their wagon to a given coin, the company becomes a true proxy for it, replicating the success of Strategy.

Of course, such an approach presumes that both cryptocurrency and their chosen coin will continue to grow, and that the firm in question can weather any extended periods of volatility, or a sustained crash in its coin’s value. In short, a classic high-risk, high-reward approach.

Solana [SOL] is increasingly garnering interest among investors, with the token recently outpacing bitcoin and ethereum as fresh decentralized finance (DeFi) activity funneled tens of millions into reserves; Bitwise Asset Management noted recently that SOL achieved the $100bn market capitalization milestone in less than five years. All this has boosted momentum for companies heavily exposed to SOL.

One such is Upexi [UPXI], a Tampa-based consumer products firm. Earlier this month, it said its SOL treasury was at $447m, with unrealized gains of $142m. 

Upexi also announced a $750,000 investment in Cybersyn Holdings, which later this year will launch Alpha Exchange, an artificial intelligence-powered, SOL-focused trading platform.

Elsewhere, on September 10, CEA Industries [BNC] — an agricultural services provider based in Louisville, Colorado — announced it had bought 30,000 binance coin [BNB] tokens, bringing its total holdings to 418,888 BNB and cementing its position as the world’s largest corporate BNB treasury. 

“We’re at the beginning of a $100bn–200bn shift of capital into digital asset treasuries,” said CEA CEO David Namdar. “BNB is positioned to be a winner in this wave, and BNC’s role is to lead institutional investors into that ecosystem with transparency, discipline and scale.”

On a similar note, earlier in September, Arizona-based real estate and digital asset management platform CaliberCos [CWD] revealed its first acquisition of chainlink [LINK] tokens as part of a new digital asset treasury strategy. It is the first Nasdaq-listed company to focus on LINK, and the announcement sparked an extraordinary rally, sending CWD stock up 2,500% intraday.

The move demonstrates “our conviction in chainlink as the infrastructure connecting blockchain with real-world assets” CEO Chris Loeffler said in a statement. Indeed, this focus is what takes this strategy beyond the simple, speculative hoarding of tokens. CaliberCos is in a position to explore other applications of blockchain in its actual business, through what is known as tokenization.

Token Efforts

Tokenizing involves turning ownership of a real-world asset — like real estate, equipment or revenue — into digital tokens that can be bought online, representing fractional ownership or claims on future revenues. Blockchain provides the underlying system for tokenizing: the digital tokens are created, recorded and traded on a blockchain, which acts as a ledger that verifies ownership.

By tokenizing assets, companies can raise capital without relying on traditional intermediaries like banks or brokers, lowering transaction costs and accelerating the flow of funding. Crucially, it also broadens participation, giving retail investors access to projects that might otherwise have remained the preserve of large institutions.

One company that is storming ahead with tokenization is Ant Digital Technologies, the enterprise solutions arm of Alibaba-affiliated [BABA] fintech Ant Group.

The firm plans to link more than RMB60bn of energy infrastructure and other power assets to its blockchain, AntChain, Bloomberg reported last week. It is already tracking output from some 15 million renewable devices — from wind turbines to solar panels — and recording the data on-chain. Last year, it helped Shenzhen-listed Longshine Technology Group [300682:SZ] secure RMB100m from offshore banks by connecting over 9,000 of its charging units to AntChain, and raised more than RMB200m for GCL Energy Technology [002015:SZ] by tokenizing the company’s photovoltaic assets.

Tokenization is particularly well-suited to renewables projects, as it removes two persistent challenges in sustainable energy finance: high barriers to entry and illiquidity. In light of the ever-larger importance of renewable energy to the global economy, we might expect tokenization to grow in importance going forward.

DeFi Defies Traditional Models

A third approach is DeFi, which has become a powerful tool for companies to raise funds and generate revenue beyond traditional treasury strategies. 

Leading DeFi platforms like Aave, Compound and MakerDAO enable businesses to access capital by borrowing against crypto assets, facilitating liquidity without selling holdings. 

Additionally, DeFi protocols offer opportunities for yield generation through staking and liquidity provision. By participating in these protocols, companies can earn returns on idle assets, enhancing their revenue streams. 

The growth of DeFi has been significant, with the total value locked in lending protocols reaching over $83bn. 

Coinbase [COIN], a leading cryptocurrency exchange, has expanded its services to include DeFi-related offerings, such as staking and lending. Additionally, Coinbase Ventures, the investment arm of Coinbase, has invested in DeFi projects, further integrating the company into the DeFi ecosystem. 

DeFi Development [DFDV], meanwhile, is a fintech that focuses on bridging traditional capital markets with decentralized finance. The company has implemented a treasury strategy centered on accumulating and compounding SOL, holding over 2 million SOL on its balance sheet. 

Both companies are actively engaging with DeFi to innovate and expand their financial offerings, positioning themselves at the forefront of the evolving digital finance landscape.

Conclusion

Beyond serving as a speculative play on BTC or ETC, blockchain can be a toolkit for generating capital, diversifying treasuries and unlocking new revenue streams. Companies embracing tokenization and DeFi are actively turning assets into productive, revenue-generating instruments. Early engagement with these technologies could offer a pathway to both growth and strategic differentiation in an increasingly digital economy.