This Is Why Bitcoin Treasury Companies Can Be Riskier Than BTC

While Bitcoin is less volatile than it used to be, an analyst says a treasury company amplifies whatever swings remain in the asset.

Bitcoin treasury companies can give investors greater exposure to the cryptocurrency’s gains, but the amplification works in both directions, according to The Smarter Web Company CEO Andrew Webley.

In a recent interview with BTC advocate Stephen Livera, Webley also warned that unlike Bitcoin itself, these companies depend on management teams whose capital allocation decisions can materially affect shareholder returns.

Bitcoin Exposure Comes With Added Volatility

Webley identified two risks investors need to understand, the first being volatility. Bitcoin is less volatile than it used to be, the CEO conceded, but it still swings more than many assets investors hold, and a treasury company “amplifies that volatility,” and investors cheer that on the way up and mostly dislike it on the way down.

“People don’t like it when I say it, but you can’t have it both ways,” Webley remarked. “You can’t have performance and no volatility.”

The second risk is management execution, which decides whether these companies work or not. According to Webley, executives have numerous decisions to make, particularly around capital structure, and choices that might allow a firm to grow faster could come at the expense of shareholders.