Altvest Capital (ALV) has become the first publicly traded company in Africa to integrate bitcoin (BTC) as a strategic treasury asset, as announced in a press release on Friday.
The company confirmed it has purchased one bitcoin for its strategic treasury, following the example set by Strategy (MSTR) in the U.S. and Metaplanet (3350) in Japan.
Based in Johannesburg, Altvest acquired the bitcoin for 1.8 million rand ($98,200) and stated that it has no intentions of investing in alternative cryptocurrencies.
According to Altvest, “bitcoin is the only digital asset that fulfills its rigorous investment standards for long-term treasury allocation.”
There is a growing trend among corporations to include bitcoin as a strategic treasury asset. The initiative was started by Michael Saylor’s Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), which began acquiring BTC in 2020 and currently holds 478,740 bitcoin, valued at over $47 billion at today’s prices.
The South African investment firm noted that its decision to purchase bitcoin aimed at “preserving shareholder value, reducing currency depreciation risks, and securing a stake in a globally acknowledged store of value.”
Since Metaplanet, based in Tokyo, commenced its bitcoin purchases in April of last year, it has acquired 2,031 tokens worth nearly $200 million and has become the best-performing equity in Japan over the past year, appreciating by 3,900%. Earlier this month, investment bank KBW initiated coverage of Strategy with an outperform rating and a $560 price target. The shares are currently priced at $323.92.
At the time of publication, Altvest shares were noted to be over 9% lower at 590 rand.
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