From Desperation to Strategy: How Struggling Companies and Tech Giants Are Turning to Crypto

When a company’s market value collapses by 99%, traditional financial strategies often fail to restore investor confidence. In such extreme cases, Bitcoin has emerged as a last-resort asset—a hedge against fiat currency instability and a potential lifeline for struggling firms.

Bitcoin.com News highlighted this phenomenon in a recent post, citing analyst Andrei Ruckenstein, who argued that for some companies, "betting on BTC isn’t just a strategy—it’s the only move left." The clip from Token Narratives Ep. 55 further explores how desperate financial situations are pushing firms toward Bitcoin adoption.

Financially Strapped Firms Turning to Crypto

This trend is already playing out in real-world cases:

• Vanadi Coffee, a Spanish coffee chain listed on the BME Growth market, has seen its stock value plummet by nearly 99% since its 2023 debut. Despite reporting €3.7 million in losses for 2024 and stagnating revenues, the company announced a bold plan to invest over $1.1 billion in Bitcoin. Chairman Salvador Martí described the move as a necessary step to "transform into a Bitcoin-first company" and hedge against inflation.

• K Wave Media, a Nasdaq-listed K-Pop firm, saw its stock surge 132% after announcing plans to sell 500 million in shares to fund Bitcoin purchases. Despite holding negative equity of −1.5 billion, the company views Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset to future-proof its operations.

These cases illustrate how extreme financial distress is driving companies to view Bitcoin not as a speculative investment, but as a last-resort financial stabilizer.

Experience Matters: Strategic Adoption by Established Corporations

While struggling firms turn to Bitcoin out of desperation, well-capitalized companies are adopting crypto for strategic advantages—diversification, cost efficiency, and regulatory foresight. These are not stopgap measures; they demonstrate a growing recognition that crypto can serve as a strategic asset in corporate balance sheets:

Hong Kong-based logistics firm Reitar Logtech (Nasdaq: RLOG) plans to acquire $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin as part of its treasury strategy. The company will issue shares in exchange for BTC, positioning itself to hedge against traditional asset risks while supporting digital infrastructure investments.

Chairman Dale Shen emphasized that this move aligns with Hong Kong’s evolving regulatory environment, particularly the May 2025 passage of the Stablecoin Bill, which establishes a licensing regime for fiat-referenced stablecoins.

VivoPower International PLC, a Nasdaq-listed energy solutions company (ticker: VVPR), raised $121 million via private placement to create the world’s first corporate XRP treasury.

Backed by Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud and former Ripple executive Adam Traidman, the strategy leverages XRP’s fast, low-cost transactions for cross-border payments and DeFi applications.

Major tech giants are exploring crypto and stablecoins, like Apple, Airbnb, and Google Cloud are in “ongoing conversations” centered around stablecoins and blockchain infrastructure. Though still exploratory, these dialogues mark a critical shift toward mainstream corporate engagement with crypto.

Analysis & Takeaways

Crypto volatility is no secret — recently, Meta shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to add Bitcoin to the company’s treasury — yet institutional inflows (e.g. ETFs) and growing on-chain activity suggest enduring interest, not retreat.

From Andrei’s somber warning to institutional treasury strategies, it's clear: whether as a last resort or natural evolution, corporate crypto adoption is deepening.