Firms Race to Buy Crypto Through Public Markets

Among the latest examples is TLGY Acquisition Corp., which presented investors with a pitch titled “MicroStrategy 2.0” in April. However, instead of accumulating Bitcoin, TLGY aimed to acquire ENA tokens from Ethena, the crypto project behind the industry’s fourth-largest digital dollar.

This strategy highlights a growing trend among special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and smaller public firms eager to replicate MicroStrategy’s success in the equity markets. TLGY signed a letter of intent with the Ethena Foundation on April 10 to explore a potential partnership, marking another case where firms are exploring alternative crypto accumulation paths.

Bloomberg notes that the market response reflects significant investor appetite for crypto exposure via public equities, especially in familiar structures like listed companies. Cosmo Jiang of Pantera Capital Management said this interest stems from the comfort traditional investors find in equity-based crypto plays.

Bitcoin Strategy Gains Fuel Copycat Models

The blueprint for many of these new ventures echoes Saylor’s approach: inject capital into smaller, often dormant public firms, raise funds through equity or convertible notes, and allocate the proceeds to buy crypto assets. But the targets are now broader than Bitcoin.

For example:

SharpLink Gaming announced a $425 million raise led by Consensys, intending to purchase Ethereum (ETH). Upexi Inc. and Janover Inc. (now DeFi Development Corp.) disclosed Solana-focused investment strategies in April. Twenty One Capital, backed by Tether, SoftBank, and a Cantor Fitzgerald SPAC, launched with nearly $4 billion in BTC. Even Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., President Donald Trump’s social media firm, said it raised $2.32 billion to build a Bitcoin treasury.

Risks of Scaling Into Altcoins

While equity-backed crypto accumulation has drawn attention, Bloomberg also highlights the risks of pivoting from Bitcoin to altcoins like Ethereum and Solana. According to Messari’s Dylan Bane, these moves introduce greater regulatory risk, inflationary token supply, and limited institutional support.

Nonetheless, investors face compressed timelines, often having just days to assess deals, as noted by Akshat Vaidya, co-founder of Arthur Hayes’ Maelstrom fund.

Despite the challenges, the boom in so-called “Strategy Lookalikes” demonstrates continued interest in crypto-focused capital deployment. And for now, the race to become the next MicroStrategy — even without Bitcoin — is heating up.

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