The Smarter Web Company Considers Acquisitions
The Smarter Web Company, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder in the United Kingdom, is contemplating acquiring struggling competitors to enhance its treasury, according to CEO Andrew Webley.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Webley mentioned he would “certainly consider” purchasing competitors to obtain their Bitcoin (BTC) at a lower price.
Data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET reveals that The Smarter Web Company ranks as the 25th largest Bitcoin treasury globally and holds the top position in the UK, currently possessing 2,470 BTC valued at nearly $275 million.
Webley also expressed the company’s ambition to join the FTSE 100, which includes the UK’s top 100 listed companies. He acknowledged that changing the company’s name is “inevitable” but emphasized the need to approach it “properly.”
Insight from Experts on Acquisitions
Alex Obchakevich, the founder of Obchakevich Research, said that “buying the assets of bankrupt crypto companies often promises discounts, but the reality is actually much tougher than everyone thinks.”
He referenced the bankruptcies of the crypto exchange FTX and the crypto lender Celsius, stating that while initial discounts ranged from 60% to 70%, “after deducting liabilities liquidated in bankruptcy, encumbrances removed by the court and taxes, the net discount drops to 20–50%.”
Stock Performance and Market Context
Webley’s remarks were made following a nearly 22% drop in Smarter Web’s stock on Friday, falling from $2.01 at the opening to $1.85 at the time of this writing. This decline occurred even as BTC gained over 1% in the last 24 hours.
In the past month, Bitcoin has also lost more than 4% of its value, while The Smarter Web Company’s stock price declined by roughly 35.5%.
More Read
The correction in Smarter Web’s stock price comes after the UK permitted retail investors to access crypto exchange-traded notes (cETNs) in early August, with the changes taking effect on October 8. This provides an alternative way to invest in crypto treasury companies, which were previously the most accessible regulated means of exposure to digital assets in the UK.
Competitive Landscape in Crypto Treasuries
Webley’s thoughts on acquiring competitors come amidst reports suggesting that Bitcoin treasuries, particularly newer and smaller entities, are likely to face challenges. Coinbase head of research David Duong and researcher Colin Basco recently stated that publicly traded companies acquiring crypto are entering a “player vs player” phase, where firms will increasingly compete for investor funds.
They noted that “strategically positioned players will thrive” and significantly boost the crypto industry through their capital influx. Additionally, analysts indicated that this market segment is quickly becoming oversaturated, with many crypto treasuries unlikely to survive in the long term.
Concerns Over Industry Risks
Josip Rupena, CEO of lending platform Milo and a former analyst at Goldman Sachs, shared that at the end of last month that crypto treasury companies reflect the risks associated with collateralized debt obligations, which contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.
He remarked, “There’s this aspect where people take what is a pretty sound product, a mortgage back in the day or Bitcoin and other digital assets today, for example, and they start to engineer them, taking them down a direction where the investor is unsure about the exposure they’re getting.”
