Semler Scientific Files $500M Offering, Targets Bitcoin Buys Amid DOJ Settlement

April 15, 2025

More than two months after it brought its Bitcoin holdings to 3,192 BTC, healthcare tech firm Semler Scientific is preparing to buy more.

Semler Scientific plans to raise up to $500 million through a new securities offering that could boost its Bitcoin holdings, according to a Tuesday SEC filing.

The filing was a shelf registration statement that would allow it to issue various securities, including common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants, and units over time, the filing shows.

Semler will use the net proceeds “primarily for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of bitcoin,” the company wrote in its prospectus. The firm has not yet responded to comments on the size of its next Bitcoin buy.

Additional uses may include working capital, research expenses, and potential investments in technologies that complement its core healthcare business.

The fundraising effort comes amid a separate Tuesday filing detailing how Semler Scientific had reached a tentative $29.75 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve allegations of federal anti-fraud law violations related to its QuantaFlo product marketing.

In the filing, Semler Scientific said it “intends to borrow” from Coinbase to pay its dues to the DOJ. The law enforcement agency did not immediately return Decrypt’s request for comment.

The healthcare firm’s “cash on hand” would also be used, alongside proceeds from its loan agreement with Coinbase. It also plans to use its Bitcoin holdings as collateral for that loan.

Talks for the settlement began four days after Semler Scientific added $88 million to its Bitcoin treasury on February 7. At the time, Semler Scientific claimed to have generated a 152% yield from its Bitcoin treasury.

Semler Scientific’s Bitcoin treasury strategy, implemented in May 2024, has already transformed the company’s financial profile. 

Before that shift, the firm was described as a “zombie company” by Eric Semler, its chairman, publicly listed on Nasdaq and profitable, but with stagnant stock performance despite sizable cash reserves.

Semler Scientific sees Bitcoin as a “reliable store of value and a compelling investment,” its S-3 filing shows.

Bitcoin has “unique characteristics as a scarce and finite asset,” which positions it as a “reasonable inflation hedge and safe haven amid global instability,” it claimed.

Semler ranks 12th among public companies holding Bitcoin, according to data from Bitcoin Treasuries. Its stock price, SMLR, is down 37% year-to-date to $34.40, 

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

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