Bitcoin in treasury

How to acquire Bitcoin

Bitcoin for Business

How to acquire Bitcoin

Three Methods of Acquisition
At What Price?
How Much Should You Buy?
How Often?
In What Form to Buy? (Methods of Custody)
Who to Buy From?

Three Methods of Acquisition

There are three ways to acquire Bitcoin:

In exchange for goods or services: Since Bitcoin functions as a medium of exchange, it’s possible to envision a circular economy. Although this remains uncommon today, an increasing number of businesses are beginning to accept Bitcoin payments—why not yours? (See our next chapter)
Mining Bitcoin: This involves earning rewards from operating mining machines. For non-specialized businesses, this remains relatively marginal. You can participate through intermediaries that will sell or rent you the computer, network, and maintenance. If you own the machines, you can account for them as depreciable assets. On a large scale, you’ll need to carefully calculate return on investment because the market is highly competitive and requires a good anticipation of costs, particularly electricity.

To learn more about mining methods, you can consult the "mining" section in our tutorials.

Buying Bitcoin: This is by far the most common method, typically conducted through peer-to-peer exchanges or specialized trading platforms. But when acquiring Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset, companies must comply with robust regulatory standards and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) procedures. When they buy it on specialized trading platforms, businesses are typically required to provide detailed company information, including identification documents, financial statements, and proof of address, to satisfy KYC and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.

To learn how to open a business account and use it to buy, sell, and transfer bitcoins, you can check out these two tutorials specifically designed for businesses, covering the Kraken and Bitfinex platforms in their corporate versions:

Bitfinex - CompanyCreating and managing a company account on Bitfinex

Kraken - CompanyCreating and managing a Kraken corporate account

To learn more about methods for acquiring bitcoins via an exchange or peer-to-peer, you can consult the "exchange" section in our tutorials.

At What Price?

As mentioned before, it’s not only impossible to predict Bitcoin’s future price, but the price is also very volatile in the short term. Historically, a reliable strategy has been to gradually accumulate at regular intervals and maintain a time horizon of four years or more.

How Much Should You Buy?

Counterintuitively, it’s probably best to start with a very small purchase without overthinking it. A small sum (like a hundred euros or dollars) won’t seriously harm you, and the hands-on experience will teach you far more, far more quickly, than any amount of reading.

As previously stated, it’s wise only to invest excess liquidity that you won’t need for several years. Any poorly understood strategy risks putting you in a difficult position if you suddenly need to cash out at a bad time.

In addition to starting small, it’s useful for corporate treasuries to adopt a measured allocation strategy. At one end of the spectrum, some companies, such as MicroStrategy, have taken an extreme approach by committing a substantial portion of their excess treasury funds to Bitcoin, reflecting a strong institutional conviction. Conversely, a more conservative and arguably rational strategy might involve allocating approximately 5% of the corporate treasury to Bitcoin, striking a balance between potential gains, risk management, and liquidity requirements.

Visualize this spectrum as a scale, from minimal exposure, ensuring the company retains sufficient liquidity for operational needs, to an aggressive stance aimed at leveraging the anticipated long-term value appreciation of Bitcoin. While aggressive allocation may yield higher returns, a modest allocation helps mitigate volatility, ensuring that the company’s financial foundation remains secure while still benefiting from the innovative potential of Bitcoin within its treasury operations.

How Often?

There is no hard rule. Trying to time the market by hunting for “dips” can be less effective and more stressful than simply buying at regular intervals. Even seasoned investors occasionally make mistakes. Going “all-in” at once can be a double-edged sword.

In reality, Bitcoin’s potential appreciation is such that even if you were to start only a few years down the line, you’d likely still see long-term gains. True, it’s probable that major price swings will lessen in intensity over time. However, as a deflationary currency, Bitcoin is designed to effectively store value and reflect the productivity gains of its users. To draw an analogy: we are currently in the “launch phase” of Bitcoin, a currency in the making, and no one knows its fair value yet. Later, perhaps in 20 or 40 years, when it’s in a stable “cruise phase,” it may become incredibly stable and grow steadily alongside society’s productivity gains.

The real estate industry often repeats that “it’s always the right time to buy,” forgetting that if real estate were to lose its function as a store of value—shifting to assets like Bitcoin—prices could return closer to their utility value (shelter). Bitcoin, by contrast, serves no purpose other than value storage, which could mean that “it’s always the right time to buy.” The future will tell.

Credit: Bitcoin Office

In What Form to Buy? (Methods of Custody)

You do not physically own Bitcoin. Instead, you hold a cryptographic key that allows you to transfer the ownership of some or all of your units of account to one or more other cryptographic keys. All of this occurs on the Bitcoin blockchain, which is replicated across tens of thousands of nodes worldwide.

This cryptographic key is an extremely large random number. To simplify the user experience, it’s often represented as a sequence of 12 or 24 words. These words can be loaded onto a physical device known as a “hardware wallet.” However, understand that the bitcoins aren’t “inside” this device; it’s simply a tool to sign transactions and broadcast them to the network cryptographically. What truly matters are the 12 or 24 words, which must be kept secure.

This leads to the issue of custody: holding Bitcoin means holding the key(s) to it. Either you hold them yourself, or you delegate the task to a third party. There are also intermediate solutions. Let’s review the most common scenarios:

Self-Custody: This is the option recommended by true Bitcoin enthusiasts, as it aligns with Bitcoin’s original design. You act as your own bank: there’s no risk of a third party defrauding you, but you are responsible for securing the key(s). You have full access to your funds 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In a business setting, if multiple people may need to transact, you’ll need appropriate tools and procedures to manage access and security.
Third-Party Custody: For example, an exchange or buying service can create an account for you, convert your traditional currency into Bitcoin, and store it on your behalf using their secure systems. Most such services allow you to withdraw your bitcoins to a wallet where you alone hold the key. Until you do, you don’t truly own the bitcoins; you rely on their promise to pay you back. This involves balancing security risks (your own vs. theirs) and counterparty risk (they could fail or disappear). Some businesses find this acceptable, though it’s not generally advised for long-term storage or 100% of your allocation. Custody services may also charge storage fees.
“Paper Bitcoin” (ETFs or ETPs): These are traditional financial instruments that represent fractions of Bitcoin, replicating its price performance. The institution behind the product theoretically buys and holds the underlying Bitcoin. Your contributions and withdrawals are made in traditional currency (e.g., dollars or euros), not in Bitcoin. Except for certain products that permit withdrawal in actual Bitcoin (to avoid a taxable event in some jurisdictions), these instruments involve annual management fees. Here, you rely on the institution’s security and face counterparty risk (for instance, if a government decided to seize all institutionally held Bitcoin, as happened with gold in 1933 under U.S. Executive Order 6102). Their primary benefit is easy access, as they’re distributed through traditional financial channels. They bypass the need to secure cryptographic keys but offer none of Bitcoin’s inherent properties: you can’t use the Bitcoin network 24/7 to move value freely without permission. They only replicate the financial performance, not the functionality or sovereignty of Bitcoin itself.

In addition, the form in which you hold Bitcoin significantly impacts the security measures required to safeguard your corporate treasury. Whether you choose self-custody, using single-signature or multi-signature hardware wallets, etc., to maintain direct control of your keys, or delegate this task to third-party custody services or ETFs, each option carries its own risk profile. For instance, self-custody offers full access but demands rigorous internal security protocols, while third-party solutions reduce management burden at the cost of counterparty risk. To further illustrate the distinctions, this graph outlines the security model for each custody type, helping you to select the approach best suited to your organization’s needs :

Who to Buy From?

If you opt for “paper Bitcoin,” you’ll turn to financial institutions such as banks or online stock exchanges.

If you choose to buy actual Bitcoin through a marketplace (exchange) or a broker, you have several main categories:

Large International or Foreign Platforms:
Examples include Kraken, Coinbase, and Binance, which many individuals have historically used. Some individuals have encountered issues, making it difficult to provide a clear recommendation. A piece of advice: if you use them, don’t leave your bitcoins there longer than necessary.
Regulated Service Providers (Registered Digital Asset Service Providers):
For instance, in France, platforms like Paymium (an exchange) or BullBitcoin (a broker) are known for having true Bitcoin enthusiasts at the helm and have built a solid track record. In the US, you have service providers like River or Swann. In general, it’s essential to examine the provider’s pedigree, including their reputation, track record, popularity within the Bitcoin community, and whether their leadership aligns with the core values of Bitcoin.

Exchange vs. Broker:

An exchange allows you to place buy orders at the price you choose, but you must wait for execution until the market price and sellers align.
A broker offers you a fixed price and can complete the transaction more quickly.

Beyond fees and execution speed—which matter less if you’re thinking long term (several years)—a business should also consider:

User Interface: Is the platform user-friendly?
Accounting Features: At a minimum, the ability to export transaction history in CSV format.
Custody and Security: Does the platform hold the bitcoins on your behalf, or does it transfer ownership to you? What is their security setup? Do they have “withdrawal locks” or other withdrawal limitations?
Customer Support: The quality, responsiveness, and personalized assistance, especially when you’re getting started.
Reputation and Ethos: Trustworthiness and values of the platform.
Support for Recurring Purchases: If you plan to accumulate Bitcoin over time with scheduled buys.

Quiz

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1/5

When buying Bitcoin, what is one recommended approach to handle its price volatility?