The UK’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, The Smarter Web Company, is considering snapping up struggling competitors as part of its strategy to strengthen its reserves. CEO Andrew Webley told the Financial Times he would “certainly consider” acquisitions if it allowed the company to secure Bitcoin at a discount.
According to BitcoinTreasuries.NET, Smarter Web ranks 25th globally and 1st in the UK among corporate Bitcoin holders, with 2,470 BTC currently valued at nearly $275 million.
Webley also revealed the company’s ambition to enter the FTSE 100, the benchmark index of Britain’s top publicly listed firms. He added that a name change for the company is “inevitable,” though he emphasized the need to “do it properly.”
Meanwhile, Alex Obchakevich, founder of Obchakevich Research, warned that acquiring assets from bankrupt crypto companies is rarely as lucrative as it seems:
“On paper, discounts may appear to be 60–70%. But once liabilities, court deductions, and taxes are factored in, the effective discount often shrinks to 20–50%.”
Market Impact and Investor Sentiment
Webley’s comments followed a sharp 22% drop in Smarter Web’s stock price on Friday, sliding from $2.01 at the open to $1.85, even as Bitcoin gained over 1% during the same period.
Over the past month, BTC fell by 4%, while Smarter Web’s stock plunged 35.5%. This downturn coincides with the UK’s decision to grant retail investors access to crypto exchange-traded notes (cETNs) starting October 8 — offering a new alternative to investing in Bitcoin treasury firms.
Competitive Pressures
Coinbase researchers David Duong and Colin Basco noted that the corporate Bitcoin treasury sector is entering a “player vs. player” phase, where only strategically positioned companies will thrive.
Josip Rupena, CEO of lending platform Milo and former Goldman Sachs analyst, compared crypto treasury risks to the 2008 financial crisis:
“What we’re seeing is the same dynamic as with collateralized debt obligations. A fundamentally solid asset — mortgages back then, Bitcoin today — becomes engineered in ways that make investors uncertain about their actual exposure.”
As the corporate Bitcoin treasury race heats up, Smarter Web’s acquisition strategy could give it a competitive edge — but also expose it to the pitfalls of an increasingly saturated market.
