With President-elect Trump’s incoming administration having suggested it could create a national bitcoin reserve, a selection of biotechs have this morning announced their own plans to each create stockpiles of up to $1 million of the decentralized digital currency.
They include Acurx Pharmaceuticals, a Nasdaq-listed biotech with an antibiotic for Clostridioides difficile in phase 2 development, which said that its board of directors has “approved the purchase of up to $1 million in bitcoin to hold as a treasury reserve asset.”
“As demand for bitcoin grows, and so does its acceptance as a major and primary asset class, we believe that bitcoin will serve as a strong treasury reserve asset for cash not needed over the next 12 to 18 months,” CEO David Luci said in the Nov. 20 release.
Luci pointed to the approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year of bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as well as “growing support from government agencies and institutional investors” as justification for the New York-based company’s bitcoin decision.
“Its limited supply and inflation-resistant characteristics provide a functional store of value,” the CEO added. “This new treasury strategy is a finance strategy and has no impact on our overarching drug development plans.”
The strategy and sentiments were closely echoed in shorter—but very similar—announcements this morning by both Hoth Therapeutics and Enlivex Therapeutics.
Hoth, another New York-based, Nasdaq-listed company, also pointed to the approval of ETFs and “increasing activity from institutional investors” as the reasons for its planned purchase of $1 million worth of the currency. The biotech has two dermatology candidates in clinical development.
“As bitcoin continues to grow, gaining investor attention and acceptance as a major and primary asset class, we believe that bitcoin will serve as a strong treasury reserve asset,” CEO Robb Knie said in a statement. “We believe its inflation-resistant characteristics may make it a reliable asset as a functional store of value.”
It was a very similar story over at Enlivex, with the Nasdaq-listed Israeli biotech noting the growing demand for bitcoin combined with “its rising acceptance as a recognized medium of exchange” as a reason for scooping up $1 million worth of the currency “as part of its cash management strategy.”
“With the recent approvals of bitcoin ETFs and growing support from institutional investors, we believe that bitcoin can provide the company with a potential functional store of value and an inflation hedge to standard currencies,” CEO Oren Hershkovitz said in a statement.
Enlivex’s lead asset is Allocetra, an off-the-shelf, cell-based therapy in clinical development for both osteoarthritis and organ failure associated with sepsis.
Bitcoin’s rise in value over 2024 has only accelerated in the wake of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5, with the cryptocurrency currently sitting at an all-time high. President-elect Trump has said he would embrace a more cryptocurrency-friendly agenda.
His proposals for a national bitcoin reserve remain vague, although it would presumably mean that the U.S. government would backstop the price of the digital currency. Critics of the policy have suggested it would erode the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency.