River Report: Businesses Investing a Fifth of Profits in Bitcoin
US cryptocurrency finance company River has published a study of its clients' investment strategies. Private companies are reinvesting an average of 22% of their profits into the leading cryptocurrency, indicating growing adoption of bitcoin at the base level.
Real estate companies have been the biggest buyers, with nearly 15% of them investing their profits in bitcoin. Hospitality, finance and software development are allocating between 8% and 10% of revenue, River analyst Sam Baker said in a report Wednesday.
Even fitness studios, painting and roofing companies, and religious nonprofits have begun buying the first cryptocurrency. According to Baker, such businesses have quietly amassed 84,000 bitcoins in 2025 — a massive stash that’s about a quarter of what fund managers and large companies own.
“While companies that accumulate bitcoin for corporate purposes have received much of the media attention, what is often overlooked is the adoption by regular businesses that use bitcoin as a complement to existing business models,” he added.
Favorable conditions for mass adoption
Baker noted that improvements in Bitcoin accounting standards, regulatory clarity, growing institutional acceptance, and a strong bull market have created “the perfect conditions for the mass adoption we are seeing today.”
The adoption of Bitcoin by businesses and institutions has been one of the main catalysts for the bull market this cycle. At times, issuers of spot Bitcoin ETFs have bought up 10 times more coins than miners could produce, pushing the price of Bitcoin higher.
This is a stark contrast to the 2020-2021 bull cycle, where businesses largely sat on the sidelines as Bitcoin reached $69,000 on a largely retail-driven binge.
Small companies adapt faster
Baker noted that 75% of the companies he serves have 50 employees or fewer, arguing that smaller businesses have an easier time adopting Bitcoin because there are fewer barriers.
On the other hand, large companies are more likely to follow regulations and avoid risks, Baker explained, explaining why so few S&P 500 companies hold bitcoin.
“Even if a CEO or CFO is personally convinced of the long-term value of bitcoin, they are unlikely to advocate for adoption if competitors have not already done so,” he said.
However, River found that more than 40% of businesses allocate between 1% and 10% to purchasing Bitcoin, while only 10% invest more than half of their net income in cryptocurrency.
For smaller businesses, Bitcoin purchases can be quite modest, amounting to less than $10,000. Last week, Western Main Self Storage in Rhode Island added just 0.088 Bitcoin worth $9,830 in a single purchase, and now holds a total of 0.43 BTC.
Despite growing adoption, Baker said most businesses don't even consider bitcoin due to “common misconceptions and limited awareness.”
He cited a Cornell University survey that found only 6% of Americans knew Bitcoin's supply was limited to 21 million coins, while another survey found 60% of Americans admitted they knew “little” about the cryptocurrency.
“In other words, Bitcoin is often rejected not because it has been valued and rejected, but because most decision makers do not have the understanding to value the asset,” the analyst concluded.
Source: cryptonews.net
