Quantum Biopharma has purchased an additional $1 million worth of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the Canadian biotechnology company said. 

The buys take Quantum’s total cryptocurrency holdings to approximately $4.5 million, according to a May 19 press release. The biotech company plans to stake a portion of its crypto to generate revenue. 

Quantum expects that holding a treasury of Bitcoin BTCUSD and other crypto assets will “provide a return on investment for shareholders and […] provide some hedge against the Canadian dollar,” it said. 

Shares of Quantum’s stock, QNTM, rose by approximately 25% following the announcement, according to data from Google Finance. 

Popular treasury strategy

Quantum is one of several healthcare companies accumulating Bitcoin as corporate crypto treasuries become increasingly popular. 

In March, NASDAQ-listed biopharmaceutical company Atai Life Sciences tipped plans to buy $5 million worth of Bitcoin. 

In a March 20 X post, Atai’s founder, Christian Angermayer, said “Bitcoin should be a part of ANY corporate treasury – especially, in fact, in the biotech sector.”

Angermayer added in a blog post that Bitcoin can help the biotech hedge against inflation and stay solvent during the long periods before drug approvals. 

On May 16, Singapore-based healthcare company Basel Medical Group announced plans to buy $1 billion worth of Bitcoin. 

It said a Bitcoin treasury will support its plans to expand in Asia through acquisitions by giving Basel “one of the strongest balance sheets among Asia-focused healthcare providers.”

Unlike Quantum, however, Basel’s shares dropped significantly on the day of the announcement.

Collectively, corporate treasuries hold more than $83 billion in Bitcoin as of May 19, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET. 

Publicly traded companies are now the largest institutional Bitcoin holders after exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the data shows.

Bitcoin can “potentially be a valuable hedge against growing fiscal deficits, currency debasement, and geopolitical risks” for companies, asset manager Fidelity Digital Assets said in a 2024 report.