Crypto & Stock Barometer丨Global Listed Companies' Weekly Net Bitcoin Purchases Surpass $25 Billion, Hitting a Recent High; Bitmine Increases Holdings by 101,627 ETH Last Week, the Largest Increase in Nearly Four Months (April 21)
- Core View: As geopolitical tensions in the Middle East ease, market focus has shifted back to economic fundamentals, leading to a recovery in global stock markets. Concurrently, listed companies' demand for allocating to crypto assets like Bitcoin has rebounded strongly. Notably, MicroStrategy has surpassed BlackRock's IBIT to become the world's largest single entity holding Bitcoin.
- Key Factors:
- UBS believes that if the Middle East conflict is resolved diplomatically, investors will refocus on healthy economic and earnings fundamentals. It forecasts a 17% year-over-year increase in Q1 earnings per share for U.S. stocks, the fastest growth rate since Q4 2021.
- Last week, global listed companies (excluding miners) achieved a net weekly purchase of Bitcoin worth $25.42 billion, setting a recent high. Among them, MicroStrategy invested $25.4 billion to acquire an additional 34,164 BTC.
- MicroStrategy (MSTR) now holds 815,061 Bitcoin, surpassing BlackRock's IBIT to become the single largest Bitcoin-holding entity globally.
- Listed Bitcoin mining companies sold over 32,000 BTC in Q1 2026, exceeding the total sold in all of 2025 and setting a new record for quarterly sales.
- Ethereum treasury company Bitmine increased its holdings by 101,627 ETH last week, marking the largest increase in nearly four months. Meanwhile, Tether supported a $134 million financing round for the listed company SDEV to increase holdings of SKY tokens and expand its stablecoin ecosystem.
Editor's Note: As tensions in the Middle East gradually ease amidst the uncertainty of "negotiations or not," the U.S. stock market has once again experienced a "TACO-style rebound," with leading crypto-related stocks seeing gains. Last week, the S&P 500 index briefly hit a new high above 7000 points, and Asian stock markets also rebounded in sync. The MSCI Asia Pacific index rose by up to 0.8%, while the MSCI Emerging Markets index recovered all losses incurred over the past two months since the outbreak of the Iran conflict. South Korea's KOSPI index even reported 6388.47 points today, setting a new historical high. In the short term, the market has digested the negative impact of the U.S.-Iran situation, and the next phase may continue to surge and catch up.
The following is a summary of last week's crypto and stock market information compiled by Odaily. All U.S. stock data is sourced from msx.com.
Middle East Tensions Ease, Economy and Fundamentals Become Focus for U.S. Stocks and Other Markets; Silver Volatility Exceeds Gold
UBS: Investors to Shift Focus from Middle East Issues to Economic and Earnings Fundamentals; U.S. Stocks Remain Attractive
On April 16, a UBS research report pointed out that based on the bank's baseline scenario, a diplomatic resolution to the Middle East conflict will ultimately allow investors to refocus on healthy economic and earnings fundamentals. The bank stated that during the escalation of the Middle East crisis, it consistently viewed global and U.S. stock markets as remaining attractive. The bank expects the U.S. Q1 earnings season to be strong, highlighting optimistic prospects for corporate profits, with earnings per share projected to grow by 17% this quarter, the fastest pace since Q4 2021. However, the bank also anticipates that the path to a long-term ceasefire in the Middle East will be bumpy, and even if shipping resumes in the Strait of Hormuz, the global energy market will need time to normalize. Therefore, the bank recently raised its Brent crude oil price forecast for the end of June from the previous $90/barrel to $100/barrel. Considering the outlook for the energy market, the bank has become more cautious about stock markets most sensitive to high fuel costs (including the Eurozone and India) and downgraded their rating from "attractive" to "neutral."
Analysis: Focus on U.S.-Iran Negotiation Progress and Strait Reopening; Silver Follows Gold's Strength in Short-Term Volatility, Volatility May Be Higher Than Gold
Affected by the renewed blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the escalation of U.S.-Iran conflict pushing up the U.S. dollar index, and inflation concerns. Silver's industrial nature makes it more sensitive to global growth and risk appetite, and its volatility tends to be greater than gold's. Currently, the "stagnation" part of the U.S. economy has not been verified. With renewed escalation of U.S.-Iran geopolitical tensions and intraday oil price increases, short-term expectations for interest rate cuts are unlikely to heat up quickly, awaiting more economic data guidance. Furthermore, the spot-side drivers for silver remain weak. Although the 1M, 3M, and 6M London Silver Lease Rates have slightly recovered, they are still fluctuating at low levels. Short-term industrial demand expectations for silver are also weak. The cancellation of photovoltaic tax rebates effective from April may slow down the previous rush for silver exports in the photovoltaic sector.
Weekly Updates on Crypto-Related Listed Companies
Representative Companies with BTC Treasuries
According to SoSoValue data, as of 8:00 AM Eastern Time on April 20, 2026, the total weekly net purchases of Bitcoin by global listed companies (excluding mining companies) last week were $2.542 billion, an increase of 154.2% compared to the previous week.
Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) announced an investment of $2.54 billion (a 154% increase from last week) to purchase 34,164 BTC at an average price of $74,395, bringing its total holdings to 815,061 BTC.
Japanese listed company Metaplanet did not purchase Bitcoin last week.
Additionally, four other companies purchased Bitcoin last week. U.S. asset management firm Strive announced on April 15 the purchase of 27 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 13,768 BTC, without disclosing the specific purchase amount. Japanese fashion brand ANAP invested $410,000 on April 16 to acquire an additional 5.07 BTC at a price of $81,607.50, bringing its total holdings to 1,422.1041 BTC. UK Bitcoin company The Smarter Web Company announced on April 14 an investment of $800,000 to purchase 11 BTC at a price of $72,702, bringing its total holdings to 2,706 BTC. A French Bitcoin company announced on April 20 an investment of $920,000 to purchase 12 BTC at a price of $72,102.50, bringing its total holdings to 2,937 BTC.
As of press time, the total Bitcoin holdings of the tracked global listed companies (excluding mining companies) amounted to 1,081,576 BTC, a 3.28% increase from last week. The current market value is approximately $81.65 billion, accounting for 5.4% of Bitcoin's circulating market cap.
Data: Strategy's Holdings Surpass IBIT, Becoming the World's Largest Single Bitcoin-Holding Entity
Strategy (MSTR) has surpassed BlackRock's IBIT to become the single largest holder of Bitcoin globally. As of April 20, MSTR holds a total of 815,061 BTC, with a total cost of approximately $61.56 billion and an average price of $75,527. Its BTC yield year-to-date for 2026 reached 9.5%.
Listed Bitcoin Mining Companies Sold Over 32,000 BTC in Q1 2026, Exceeding Full-Year 2025 Sales
According to statistics, listed Bitcoin mining companies collectively sold over 32,000 BTC in Q1 2026, exceeding their total sales for the entire year of 2025 and setting a new quarterly record. TheMinerMag data indicated that related companies include MARA, CleanSpark, Riot, Cango, Core Scientific, and Bitdeer. The report also stated that the current hash price for miners is approximately $33 per PH/s per day, below the break-even level of around $35 for some mining companies. Additionally, according to CryptoQuant data, since 2023, Bitcoin miner reserves have decreased from over 1.86 million BTC to approximately 1.8 million BTC.
The Smarter Web Company Completes Approximately $2 Million Private Placement
UK Bitcoin treasury company The Smarter Web Company announced it has completed a private placement of 4,286,410 ordinary shares pursuant to a previously signed subscription agreement. This placement raised a total of approximately £1.5374 million (approximately $2 million, before expenses), equivalent to about £0.36 per share. The company expects to receive net proceeds of approximately 98.25%. The remaining balance of ordinary shares under the current subscription agreement yet to be placed is 52,377,540 shares.
Representative Companies with ETH Treasuries
Bitmine Increased Holdings by 101,627 ETH Last Week, the Largest Increase in Nearly Four Months
Bitmine purchased 101,627 ETH last week, valued at approximately $234.7 million. Data shows the company currently holds a total of 4,976,485 ETH, valued at about $11.49 billion, of which approximately 3,334,637 ETH (about $7.7 billion) is already staked.
Intchains Group Has Staked 8,040 ETH, Plans to Accelerate AI-Powered Operational Transformation
Nasdaq-listed Ethereum treasury company Intchains Group released the latest progress on its Ethereum staking and strategic transformation. It disclosed that as of April 16, 2026, it has cumulatively staked 8,040 ETH, with 1,000 ETH deployed on the FalconX platform and 7,040 ETH deployed on its own Goldshell Stake platform. The current multi-platform staking strategy helps enhance returns and diversify risks. The company also announced an acceleration of its AI-powered operational model transformation, focusing on introducing automation and intelligent tools in areas such as chip and product R&D, market sales, and overall operations to improve efficiency and decision-making capabilities.
Representative Companies with SOL Treasuries
None.
Representative Companies with Altcoin Treasuries
Tether announced its support for the previously completed $134 million private funding round by listed company Stablecoin Development Corporation (SDEV). The funds are primarily used to increase holdings of SKY tokens.
SDEV is positioned as an investment vehicle in the stablecoin track for traditional market investors. It currently holds approximately 2.15 billion SKY tokens, representing about 9.15% of the total supply, and is building ecosystem exposure around the Sky Protocol and its stablecoin USDS.
The company stated that its core goal is to promote the application of stablecoins and DeFi in real-world scenarios and lower the barrier to entry for users.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino pointed out that the next phase of stablecoin growth will depend on "usability and infrastructure maturity," shifting the focus from trading scenarios to daily payments and practical applications.
BNB treasury company BNB Plus disclosed that it has received a notice from Nasdaq stating that its stock price is below the $1 minimum requirement and no longer complies with continued listing standards. Furthermore, as it implemented a reverse stock split in the past year, it is not eligible for the standard compliance period. The company stated it has requested a hearing, and its stock will continue trading on Nasdaq pending the outcome.
Additionally, BNB Plus announced that its board of directors has approved the initiation of an evaluation of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value. Potential options include mergers, reverse mergers, asset sales, joint ventures, financing, and other transactions. As of now, the value of its crypto treasury assets is approximately $12.2 million.
