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The board of Acurx Pharmaceuticals on Wednesday approved the purchase of up to $1 million in bitcoin to hold as a treasury reserve asset.
Shares of the company were last lower by more than 6% after spiking about 8% in premarket trading.
“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 P. Luci said in a statement.
“Its limited supply and inflation-resistant characteristics provide a functional store of value,” he added. “This new treasury strategy is a finance strategy and has no impact on our overarching drug development plans.”
The move takes a page out of MicroStrategy’s playbook. In 2020, the enterprise software company famously adopted bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset, acquiring 21,454 bitcoins at roughly $11,653 each, just before the bull run a few months later. MicroStrategy has aggressively bought more bitcoin since then, as recently as this week, bringing its total to 331,200 bitcoins. Its stock is up more than 500% for 2024.
Bitcoin adoption by corporate treasurys is an important but slow-growing catalyst for crypto. The cryptocurrency is trading at all-time highs, and it is widely expected to double by the end of 2025 due to President-elect Donald Trump’s promise of a more crypto-friendly environment for businesses.
With that regulatory overhang expected to lift next year, investors are keeping a watchful eye for the next big company to begin buying bitcoin. Tesla and Block followed MicroStrategy in 2021. Another smaller company, Semler Scientific, did so this year.
On an X spaces event Tuesday evening, MicroStrategy Chairman and bitcoin evangelist Michael Saylor said he plans to pitch the board of Microsoft in December on his bitcoin treasury strategy.
The theme has broadened to the government level this year, with Sen. Cynthia Lummis proposing a national strategic bitcoin reserve this summer. Trump similarly made mention of a potential national bitcoin stockpile in the same week.
The price of bitcoin is up 122% this year.