Recently, many companies have begun to imitate MicroStrategy's strategy of buying Bitcoin, leading to a significant increase in stock prices in the short term. While this is seen as a step towards the mainstream adoption of Bitcoin, there are still doubts about its long-term impact on the gold market. This article is sourced from CoinDesk and compiled by BitpushNews. (Background: MicroStrategy adds $5.4 billion to buy 55,000 BTC: Bitcoin is not expensive at $97,000!) (Supplementary background: Rich Dad calls for Bitcoin to reach $13 million! Supporting Michael Saylor's prediction: MicroStrategy is right) After the success of MicroStrategy's (MicroStrategy) coin accumulation strategy, many companies (some small stocks and companies unrelated to cryptocurrency) have begun to announce similar initiatives. This strategy has led to a significant increase in stock prices for some of these companies in the short term, but market observers say the long-term effects remain uncertain. While optimists view this as a step towards broader Bitcoin adoption, skeptics believe it is merely short-term hype from small companies. The main text follows: What do fitness equipment manufacturers, biopharmaceutical companies, battery material producers... have in common? Of course, it is Bitcoin. With BTC soaring to unprecedented levels this month, at least 12 previously unrelated publicly listed companies have announced plans to buy Bitcoin (BTC) as a means of storing idle cash - indeed, profits have been quite substantial recently. This is the path illuminated by Michael Saylor since 2020, when he began transforming his relatively unknown software manufacturer MicroStrategy into a Bitcoin treasury. This has led MicroStrategy to achieve great success in the US stock market - since Saylor started buying Bitcoin for the company, its value has increased approximately 30 times, accumulating a massive reserve worth about $38 billion (as of the time of writing this article). Just this month, since Trump promised to embrace cryptocurrency and was elected president of the United States, the company's stock price has nearly doubled. (Other crypto stocks have also seen increases. Exchange operator Coinbase has risen nearly 70% since the day before the election.) Other companies are trying to replicate this success. On Friday, a biotech company Anixa Biosciences (ANIX) announced that its board approved the purchase of a certain amount of Bitcoin to diversify the company's cash reserves. The stock once rose 19%, but closed up only 5%. Meanwhile, fitness equipment company Interactive Strength (TRNR) stated on Thursday that after its board approved the use of cryptocurrency as treasury reserve assets, the company plans to purchase up to $5 million worth of Bitcoin. Following the announcement, the company's stock price surged over 80% at one point, but ended the day with a 'mere' 11% increase. Earlier last week, biopharmaceutical company Hoth Therapeutics (HOTH) announced a $1 million Bitcoin purchase plan, leading to its stock price rising as much as 25% - although almost the entire gain was erased by the close. Similarly, companies including LQR House (LQR), Cosmos Health (COSM), Nano Labs (NA), Gaxos (GXAI), Solidion Technology (STI), and Genius Group (GNS) also saw temporary surges in stock prices after announcing Bitcoin treasury plans in November. Only one company saw a decline after announcing this news: Acurx Pharma (ACXP). "The recent Bitcoin craze, coupled with MicroStrategy's stock price rising over 500% in 2024, has sparked a wave of companies (especially small stocks) announcing Bitcoin purchase strategies," said Youwei Yang, chief economist at BIT Mining (BTCM). Whether these companies following MicroStrategy will achieve success like Saylor remains an unknown. Youwei Yang stated, "This behavior could end in the same way as [previous bull markets]: unsustainable hype followed by significant pullbacks, as the market realizes that many of these announcements lack substance." Furthermore, whether the latest entrants will stick it out is also unknown. So far, only the AI company Genius Group is known to have genuinely purchased Bitcoin. But who can blame them? Early investors in MicroStrategy have made a fortune, and even recent investors can easily profit. Saylor primarily raised funds through issuing stocks and bonds, which were then used to purchase Bitcoin. These imitators may thus gain access to capital market channels they previously could not. The market follows the old adage "never fight the market," which means to go with the flow regardless of fundamentals. Businesses want to meet market demand; no one wants to be the one to tell the boss or shareholders that their poor performance was due to not following in MicroStrategy's footsteps. "Just a few years ago, buying Bitcoin was nearly too risky. However, now the risk seems to be quite the opposite - not buying is the real risk," said Brian D. Evans, CEO and founder of BDE Ventures, adding, "Not getting involved with Bitcoin is really painful." For those full of hope, this sudden corporate scramble may signal the arrival of Bitcoin's mainstream adoption, especially in the context of President Trump's expressed desire for the US government to accumulate Bitcoin as well. "For supporters of BTC, expected inflation and other macro factors, along with a new regulatory friendliness, will stimulate more companies to incorporate this asset into their balance sheets," a report from Toronto-based crypto platform FRNT Financial stated. Additionally, a Bitcoin purchase strategy can open up capital markets for companies, as MicroStrategy and miner MARA Digital (MARA) have done. Both companies have recently been able to raise funds through convertible bonds that do not pay interest to investors, meaning these investors are willing to forgo current income in exchange for the ability to eventually convert their debt into equity, thus gaining Bitcoin positions. BDE's Evans stated that planning to buy Bitcoin "is a useful way for companies to raise funds, which is no different from what MicroStrategy has done in recent years." However, for some, this sounds like a repeat of a brief trend in the late 2010s, when many companies unrelated to cryptocurrency added the term "blockchain" to their names. The most famous example was the obscure beverage manufacturer Long Island Iced Tea, which renamed itself Long Blockchain, achieving explosive results at least initially: after rebranding to cryptocurrency, its stock price nearly doubled in a day. The gains did not sustain...

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