Another Publicly Traded Firm Is Putting Bitcoin in Its Treasury—XRP Too

Smaller public companies are taking a leaf out of MicroStrategy’s radical playbook by adopting a Bitcoin treasury strategy. And one is even adding in the Ripple-linked XRP, too.

The latest is auto firm Worksport, which trades on the Nasdaq (NASDAQ: WKSP) and sells tonneau covers for pickup trucks. The New York-based company announced Thursday that it was in the process of spending $5 million on Bitcoin and XRP.

Worksport said it would commit up to 10% of any future excess cash to buy the cryptocurrencies in the future. It added that it would also accept cryptocurrency for payments on its website.

“As we expand our product offerings and global reach, cryptocurrency has the potential to be a strong strategic complement,” Worksport CEO Steven Rossi said in the statement. 

The firm added that the buy would increase returns for shareholders and work as an inflation hedge. Worksport's stock price is up about 9% on the day, following the announcement.

XRP is the third-largest digital coin by market cap. Its founders launched fintech firm Ripple, which allows institutions to move money across borders. 

Worksport did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment. 

Software firm MicroStrategy became the first public company to put Bitcoin on its balance sheet in 2020 as a way to get the best results for shareholders, instead of holding excess cash. 

Its stock has surged as a result and now the firm, which sells data-analyzing software, has rebranded itself as a “Bitcoin development company” that securitizes the cryptocurrency. 

MicroStrategy now holds 402,100 Bitcoin—today worth about $40.5 billion, at the coin’s current price of $100,670.

Other American companies that have sought to seek the same orange coin-based returns as MicroStrategy include healthcare equipment company Cosmos Health (NASDAQ: COSM), which announced plans last month to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum, and electric car giant Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). 

The company, run by Elon Musk, first bought Bitcoin in 2020 before selling a chunk of its holdings. It still holds 9,720 Bitcoin, worth close to $1 billion today. 

Many publicly-listed Bitcoin miners in the U.S.—such as Marathon and Riot—also hold large amounts of the cryptocurrency.

Edited by Andrew Hayward