The companies turning Africa’s stock markets into Bitcoin investment gateways

As a retail investor in Africa, buying cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin has become more accessible through apps and peer-to-peer marketplaces.

Users can buy digital assets through crypto apps after completing identity checks and funding their accounts, or trading directly with other users on peer-to-peer platforms. For institutional investors such as pension funds, asset managers, and insurers, the process has been far more complicated. 

The rules for institutional investment in digital assets in Africa are either unclear or restrictive, or require fund managers to hold virtual asset licences. Even if these funds are allowed to buy digital assets directly from regulated exchanges, they still have to handle storage, which can be a hassle.

The need for investment-style digital asset products has created two types of workarounds—African exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and crypto treasuries—which began to gain momentum in 2025. If more companies make these alternative investment products widely available, it will solve the accessibility problem for institutional investors at scale.

In June 2025, Sygnia Limited, a publicly listed South African investment firm with R20.5 billion ($1.2 billion) in assets under management, launched a Bitcoin ETF, claiming to be the first in the country. Through its Life Bitcoin Plus Fund, which bundles Bitcoin in a diversified portfolio, the company provides indirect exposure to the cryptocurrency for professional investors.

Altify, a South African alternative investment platform backed by Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)-listed investment firm Sabvest, also offers private crypto-linked investment products, expanding the range of institutional-grade digital asset offerings available in the market.

Bitcoin treasury firms, which hold the cryptocurrency in their reserves, are now testing a different route into African capital markets.

Rather than offering ETF-style investment products or crypto trading platforms, these companies raise money on public stock exchanges and use the proceeds to accumulate Bitcoin in their treasuries. Investors then gain indirect Bitcoin exposure by buying shares in the company itself.

Since 2024, Strategy, a US Bitcoin treasury firm, has raised over $55 billion from investors seeking regulated exposure to Bitcoin without directly holding the asset. The company disclosed that it raised $22.6 billion in 2024 and $20.8 billion in 2025. By the first quarter of 2026, it said it had already raised an additional $11.7 billion, bringing the total to more than $55 billion.

On its Q1 2026 earnings call, Strategy chief executive officer Phong Le said the Bitcoin treasury firm now serves as a proxy for over 1,400 institutional investors that buy its equities, including asset managers BlackRock and Vanguard.

Africa Bitcoin Corporation, originally an SME financing company now listed on the JSE Main Board, is among the first African firms attempting the same play.

How the business model works

A Bitcoin treasury is typically listed on stock exchanges, allowing it to raise capital. It then uses that funding to buy and hold Bitcoin. 

When investors—preferably institutional investors due to the large amounts they trade—buy its shares, it gives them exposure to the cryptocurrency at a premium.

That premium depends on its Bitcoin per share (BPS). If a Bitcoin treasury firm holds 1,000 Bitcoins and has one million outstanding shares, its BPS would be 0.001 Bitcoin. The difference between its BPS value and actual share price is called a premium.

For Bitcoin treasury companies, the key is keeping their shares trading above the value of the Bitcoin held per share.

When that happens, the company can issue new shares at a higher valuation than its underlying Bitcoin holdings, raise additional capital, and use the proceeds to buy more Bitcoin. If managed carefully, that can increase Bitcoin exposure per share over time.

The model weakens when the stock falls below the value of the company’s Bitcoin holdings. At that point, issuing additional shares becomes less attractive because it dilutes existing shareholders without materially increasing Bitcoin exposure per share.

On the other hand, investors care about BPS; the higher the BPS, the better their exposure to the underlying digital asset (Bitcoin), which, for regulatory reasons, cannot be held directly or they choose not to hold for complexity reasons. 

Hence, it creates a constant tension for Bitcoin treasury companies: it is advantageous if the share price rarely ever matches the value of Bitcoin in each share unit, so it keeps its premium and continues to spin the wheel. 

But when the stock trades below the value of its Bitcoin holdings, called a discount, selling new shares becomes less attractive because shareholders get diluted without gaining much additional Bitcoin exposure.

Let’s look at Africa Bitcoin Corporation, for example.

The South African company currently holds 5.5331 Bitcoins. After completing a 3-for-1 stock split and issuing an additional 22.9 million shares in March, the company’s total number of ordinary shares is now approximately 34.11 million.

One Bitcoin equals 100 million satoshis, the smallest unit of the cryptocurrency. On that basis, the company’s 5.5331 Bitcoins convert to 553.31 million satoshis.

Dividing by the number of shares in issue, each share carries exposure of approximately 16.22 satoshis. If an investor buys one share of the company, they get exposure to about 0.0000001622 Bitcoin.

Africa Bitcoin Corporation’s stock trades at R5 ($0.3) as of Monday’s market close. At the current Bitcoin price of $69,930, that money could buy about 0.00000429 Bitcoin, or 429 satoshis, directly. But each of its shares currently carries exposure to only about 16.22 satoshis. 

This means the market is valuing the company at roughly 26 times the Bitcoin it currently holds per share. That is the premium.

In this case, that same investor would be paying a premium (overpaying) for Bitcoin exposure through the company, rather than buying the cryptocurrency directly.

Buying at a premium is not unusual in the sector. Investors in Bitcoin treasury firms often pay above the direct Bitcoin value because they are also paying for regulated market access, liquidity, and expectations of future Bitcoin accumulation.

What matters is the growth value the company is creating for investors in return. Since its first Bitcoin purchase in February 2025, its satoshis per share (SPS) have grown from 9.2 to roughly 16, increasing by 76.3%. 

The company has added Bitcoin faster than it has issued new shares, meaning existing shareholders own more BPS than when they bought in.

Africa Bitcoin Corporation already trades in South Africa, Namibia, Germany, and the OTCQB, a mid-tier public market in the US. Its planned $210 million fundraising across Africa and Europe will test whether it can create that pattern of shareholder value at scale.

Africa Bitcoin Corporation still hedges its bet by operating lending and investment businesses, while depending on its Bitcoin treasury play as a long-term beachhead.

The regulatory limits that push institutional demand

Holding direct crypto assets or investment-style products for asset managers across different portfolios is not straightforward: only a few African countries offer some level of clarity.

South Africa draws the hardest line. Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act prohibits retirement funds from investing in crypto assets. In contrast, the US moved in the opposite direction after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in August 2025, expanding access to crypto and real estate investments within retirement funds.

Egypt also prohibits crypto investment, both at the retail and institutional levels.

Ghana created a licencing and regulatory pathway for virtual asset managers and ETF providers, according to its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) Bill, passed in December 2025. Investment companies dealing with virtual assets in Ghana must be licenced or registered by the country's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

In Nigeria’s case, the rules remain unclear. Regulators have focused mainly on retail crypto trading, exchanges, and custody frameworks, with little direct guidance on how institutional investors can gain exposure to digital assets. 

In January 2021, Nigeria’s SEC issued a circular requiring fund managers to obtain prior approval or ‘no-objection’ before operating discretionary or non-discretionary investment portfolios, but it did not specifically address digital assets.

Other African countries, such as Kenya and Rwanda, have focused mainly on regulating crypto service providers rather than defining whether institutional funds may hold Bitcoin itself.

Mauritius is the only exception: its Financial Services Commission allows licenced fund managers and sophisticated investors operating collective investment schemes (CIS) to run regulated funds with exposure to virtual assets, but warns that they are risky.

Since the rules across Africa are either prohibitive, cautious, or unclear, firms like Africa Bitcoin Corporation can position themselves as regulated, investable companies for institutional investors seeking exposure to digital assets and have a high risk appetite.

Yet, the model also carries risks. Bitcoin treasury firms depend heavily on investor confidence. If Bitcoin prices fall sharply or demand for the stock weakens, the premium can disappear quickly. 

Once that happens, raising fresh capital becomes harder because issuing shares adds dilution without significantly increasing BPS. 

Investors aren’t only betting on Bitcoin’s price rising but also on the treasury company’s ability to time purchases, raise capital carefully, and continue growing Bitcoin exposure per share over time.

Investors lost $17 billion in 2025 holding Bitcoin treasury stocks, according to 10X Research, a Singapore-based Web3 analytics firm. One in five Bitcoin-linked companies ended the year trading below the value of the Bitcoin they held, the report noted.

What it means if the model spreads

In 2020, Strategy became the first company to bet on a Bitcoin treasury model, turning its struggling software business into a Bitcoin behemoth that now holds cryptocurrency worth $63.9 billion. Its success created similar companies seeking to replicate the strategy. 

Currently, over 170 companies globally hold 1.3 million Bitcoins, worth about $97.5 billion, in their treasuries. That's about 6.4% of the cryptocurrency’s total supply held in institutional hands, according to CoinMarketCap, a Web3 data analytics platform.

US companies control about 97.9% of that market, leaving Africa Bitcoin Corporation to test an untapped space if it can build institutional demand across Africa.

What happens next will depend on whether African institutional investors view Bitcoin treasury companies as a legitimate alternative to direct crypto ownership.

For now, firms such as Africa Bitcoin Corporation are testing a proposition that has already worked for companies like Strategy: that investors may be willing to buy shares in a company holding Bitcoin rather than navigate the regulatory, custody, and operational challenges of owning the asset directly.

If the model gains traction, it could create a new category of listed companies across African exchanges, sitting somewhere between traditional equities and crypto investment products. For stock exchanges facing slowing listings and limited growth sectors, Bitcoin treasury firms could offer a new source of capital-raising activity and investor participation.

The broader significance extends beyond Bitcoin itself. The rise of treasury companies would signal that African capital markets are beginning to absorb digital assets through traditional financial instruments rather than through crypto-native platforms alone. Rather than buying Bitcoin directly, institutional investors could gain exposure through regulated equities that fit within existing investment mandates, governance processes, and reporting requirements.

Whether that becomes a durable market depends on two factors: regulators’ willingness to accommodate indirect crypto exposure and treasury companies’ ability to consistently increase BPS without destroying shareholder value through excessive dilution.

For now, Africa Bitcoin Corporation is an early test case. If it succeeds in attracting institutional capital and growing Bitcoin exposure per share, it could provide a blueprint for similar companies across the continent. If it fails, it will highlight the limits of importing a strategy that flourished in the US into African markets that remain smaller and far less liquid.