The story of Bitcoin has always been one of evolution.
What began as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system has steadily grown into the world’s leading digital reserve asset. Along the way, Bitcoin has attracted not only cypherpunks and technologists but also institutions, public companies, and financial service providers seeking to incorporate it into their balance sheets and operations.
This edition, The Finance Issue, explores one of the most significant and complex chapters of Bitcoin’s ongoing journey: its integration into the world of corporate treasuries and mainstream finance. In recent years, adoption by listed firms, asset managers, and fintech platforms has shifted the narrative. Bitcoin is no longer discussed solely as a speculative investment or ideological project; it is increasingly being evaluated as a strategic reserve, a treasury diversification tool, and a component of broader financial engineering.
The numbers speak to this momentum. In just over two years, the count of public companies holding Bitcoin has grown fivefold, with nearly 200 such firms now collectively custodian to over one million BTC. Together, they represent more than $110 billion in value—an amount that rivals the reserves of some nation states. This institutional embrace underscores a trend that few could have anticipated a decade ago:
Bitcoin is moving from the periphery of finance into its center.
With this growth comes important questions. What does it mean for Bitcoin to be drawn further into traditional financial structures? Does treasury adoption stabilize the asset and reduce volatility, or does it risk exposing Bitcoin to the same systemic vulnerabilities it was designed to hedge against? How should investors, policymakers, and Bitcoiners themselves interpret the intersection between grassroots innovation and Wall Street adoption?
This issue brings together a diverse group of contributors—macroeconomists, analysts, corporate treasurers, and market observers—to examine both the opportunities and the risks that financialization presents. Their insights shed light on the strategic decisions shaping corporate balance sheets today and the potential consequences for Bitcoin’s monetary future.
As financial history shows, moments of rapid integration often coincide with periods of heightened uncertainty. Yet they also mark phases of maturity. Whether one views this shift with optimism or caution, there is no denying that Bitcoin is now embedded within the global financial system in ways that will shape its trajectory for decades to come.
We invite you to explore these themes with us in the pages ahead.
Welcome to The Finance Issue.
— Mark Mason
Don’t miss your chance to own The Finance Issue — featuring an exclusive interview + photo series with Michael Saylor at his estate.
This piece is the Letter from the Editor featured in the latest Print edition of Bitcoin Magazine, The Finance Issue. We’re sharing it here as an early look at the ideas explored throughout the full issue.
