Author: CryptoSlate
Compiled by Deep潮 TechFlow
DeepTide Summary: When a Bitcoin treasury company’s stock price falls below the value of its held Bitcoin, the cheapest way to increase Bitcoin exposure per share may not be buying Bitcoin directly—but repurchasing its own stock. The UK-listed company B HODL tested this paradox with real money, yielding surprising results—what does this mean for the entire Bitcoin treasury industry?
When a bitcoin vault company trades below the value of its held bitcoin, the cheapest way to increase bitcoin exposure per share may be to repurchase its own stock.
The UK-listed company B HODL tested this inversion effect during its first-week buyback. The company paid approximately £37,985 before fees to retire 823,400 shares, resulting in a 24% higher increase in total sats per pound compared to using the same cash to purchase Bitcoin.
This 24% advantage is pre-fee data and does not reflect the full increase in net asset value (NAV) per share.
B HODL's official dashboard on July 19 showed holdings of 166.487 BTC at a share price of 5.25 pence, resulting in a market cap of £7.385 million. Based on the displayed Bitcoin price of £48,237, these holdings are worth approximately £8.031 million, leaving a gap of about £646,000.
Based on the latest announced post-cancellation share count and the same share price, the equity value is approximately £7.378 million, which is about £652,000 or 8.1% lower than the value of Bitcoin. Both ends of this comparison are subject to continuous change.
Why buying stocks is better than buying Bitcoin
B HODL’s £100,000 buyback authorization took effect on July 9. Disclosures covering purchases on July 9, 10, 13, 15, and 16 show a total of 823,400 shares purchased at a weighted average price of 4.613 pence. These purchases utilized approximately 38% of the authorization amount before fees.
After the announcement of the cancellation, the number of shares decreased from 141,366,091 to 140,542,691. With 166.487 BTC held constant, the total Bitcoin per share increased from 117.77 satoshis to 118.46 satoshis, an increase of 0.69 satoshis or 0.59%.
At the same Bitcoin price of £48,237, £37,985 can purchase approximately 0.787 BTC. Spreading this purchase across the original number of shares increases value by about 0.557 satoshis per share, while the buyback results in a 0.690 satoshi increase. Under these matching assumptions, the value enhancement per pound from share cancellation is approximately 24% higher.
Why can B HODL buy and sell its own shares?
B HODL maintains its at-the-market (ATM) program open while repurchasing shares. Its ATM program permits share issuance only when it is accretive under the company’s modified Bitcoin net asset value (mNAV) framework.
These tools together create a capital allocation switch: issue equity when it can increase bitcoin per share, then repurchase equity when the shares themselves offer a cheaper exposure to bitcoin.
The company's latest interim balance sheet contains historical data; therefore, the first week's display shows the growth in total satoshis per share under assumed conditions, rather than the growth in net asset value per share.
For Bitcoin vault companies whose trading prices are below the per-share Bitcoin value, this insight is conditional but clear.
Whether this is the right move still depends on cash reserves, debt, trading liquidity, and operational needs—a discipline that is increasingly shaping the broader treasury industry.