Paris-based cryptocurrency firm Blockchain Group has acquired $68 million of Bitcoin, joining a growing wave of European institutions adding BTC to their balance sheets.

The Blockchain Group, which claims to be Europe’s first Bitcoin treasury firm, has acquired 624 Bitcoin (BTC) for 60.2 million euros ($68.7 million).

The latest acquisition brings the firm’s total holdings to 1,471 Bitcoin, or over $154 million, with a BTC yield of 1,097.6% YTD, the Blockchain Group announced in a June 3 X post. 

Institutional interest has grown since the US approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in January 2024, introducing the first fully regulated BTC investment vehicles for traditional investors.

Corporate appetite saw another significant uptick on March 7 after US President Donald Trump issued an executive order outlining a plan to create a Bitcoin reserve using crypto seized in criminal cases.

Related: European lawmakers silent on US Bitcoin reserve amid digital euro push

Despite Bitcoin’s economic model favoring the early adopters, only a few European companies have displayed Bitcoin treasury ambitions. These include French banking giant BNP Paribas, Swiss firm 21Shares AG, VanEck Europe, Malta-based Jacobi Asset Management and Austrian fintech firm Bitpanda.

The Czech National Bank has also publicly explored using Bitcoin as a diversification strategy for its foreign exchange reserves.

Related: Swedish MP proposes Bitcoin reserve to finance minister

In the market, Bitcoin is set to “consolidate between $103,000 and $108,000” after reaching the $112,000 all-time high on May 22, according to Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research.

“Still, onchain data shows continued whale accumulation, which shows a bullish signal; this frames any further corrections as a potential entry point,” the analyst told Cointelegraph.

Bitcoin treasury firms like Michael Saylor’s Strategy have spearheaded global Bitcoin adoption efforts.

Strategy, the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, with over $60.5 billion worth of BTC, is now about $8.3 billion away from surpassing BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, currently worth over $68.9 billion, according to Arkham Intelligence.

Strategy bought $75 million worth of Bitcoin between May 26 and 30, at an average price of $106,495 per BTC.

On June 2, Strategy announced plans to raise $250 million through an initial public offering of a new class of perpetual preferred stocks to fund its future Bitcoin acquisitions.

Meanwhile, Metaplanet, also known as “Asia’s MicroStrategy,” became the world’s eighth-largest Bitcoin holder after a $118 million Bitcoin investment on June 2, Cointelegraph reported.

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