These companies often raise capital by issuing new shares to buy crypto|Forextime.com|CC BY 2.0
In the latest crypto bull run, investors can now gain exposure to altcoins without touching a crypto wallet.
Publicly traded companies are buying large amounts of ether, solana, and even newer tokens, letting stock investors indirectly ride the altcoin wave.
For example, Sharplink Gaming is backing ether, DeFi Development Corp. is focused on solana, and fitness tech firm Interactive Strength is buying Fetch.ai’s artificial intelligence coin.
These companies often raise capital by issuing new shares to buy crypto, and their stocks are reacting like meme stocks—soaring on hype.
MEI Pharma, known for developing cancer therapies, plans to buy $100 million in litecoin. Its share price doubled from around $3 last year to $6.86 following the recent announcement.
Experts like James Butterfill from CoinShares call it a “liquidity shift,” where idle capital seeks action, sometimes irrationally.
While bitcoin is still viewed as a store of value, other tokens remain speculative. Butterfill warns, “Some coins behave more like risky tech stocks than long-term assets.”