The premium that London investors paid to own bitcoin through listed companies has almost disappeared.
Of 14 companies on the Main Market, AIM and Aquis that still hold bitcoin, only Smarter Web Company trades at a meaningful premium to the value of its bitcoin. Two trade at a discount. The rest are valued either close to their bitcoin or on businesses that have nothing to do with it.
The figures come from company filings and audited accounts. We valued each company's bitcoin at £63,300, deducted its borrowings and compared the result with its market value.
Smarter Web was worth more than £1bn in June 2025. Its shares had risen from under 5p to 500p in ten weeks. They are now 62p.
Bitcoin has fallen by a third from its October peak of $126,000. Smarter Web's shares have fallen by 88%. The difference is the premium.
The company is still valued at 1.54 times its bitcoin, or £236m against £153m of bitcoin after a £20.5m loan. That premium allows it to sell shares above the value of its bitcoin and buy more with the proceeds. It now plans to raise £15m to £25m through a preference share, MORE, paying a weekly dividend from operating cash, reserves, its bitcoin and further share sales. Strategy, the US company on which Smarter Web is modelled, uses the same structure.
Strategy sold 6,948 bitcoin between May and August. Its shares and preference stock hit 52-week lows in June.
Exits
Several London companies have left the trade. Satsuma Technology sold all 669 of its bitcoin in July at £47,667 each and is returning £30.7m to shareholders before delisting. Panther Metals dropped its plan. Vaultz Capital's shareholders voted in July to end the policy and allow the bitcoin to be sold.
B HODL has kept buying. Its bitcoin is 29% below what it paid. The company bought back shares in July, when they traded below asset value, and began selling shares again once they returned to a premium. It is valued at 1.13 times its bitcoin.
Stack BTC, London BTC Company and Coinsilium are also within 20% of the value of their bitcoin. London BTC has 85 bitcoin, mining equipment and gold projects in Nevada, and no debt. Coinsilium has 182 bitcoin, no debt, and has not bought any since August 2025.
Discounts
Phoenix Digital Assets is valued at 0.58 times its bitcoin. Its audited accounts to December show 245 bitcoin, 106,251 Solana and 9,680 TAO, a £4.96m bank loan and an £8.27m corporation tax liability. If the tax is counted as debt, the discount becomes a premium of 2.7 times. The bitcoin figure is nine months old. Interim results are due by the end of September.
Vaultz is valued at 0.70 times its 134 bitcoin. It has no debt and permission from shareholders to sell. The discount reflects the costs and delay of returning the money. Hamak Strategy owns 3% of the company.
Operating businesses
Connecting Excellence is valued at 2.6 times its 73 bitcoin. It is a recruitment business, and the premium reflects that. Falconedge, an advisory firm, is at 7.7 times. Tap Global, a fintech with 391,000 users, is at 28 times. GSTechnologies, a payments group, has drawn a $10m loan and holds 8.8 bitcoin. In each case the bitcoin is too small to affect the valuation.
Three companies owe more than their bitcoin is worth. Hamak sold eight bitcoin last week to fund a gold study in Ghana and owes £1.73m against 18 bitcoin worth £1.14m. GST's loan is 13 times its bitcoin. Supernova reported £3,000 of cash and £1.1m of liabilities in April.
What remains
The main argument for holding bitcoin through a listed company is now the ISA. Since April, crypto exchange-traded notes can only be held in an Innovative Finance ISA, which few platforms offer. AIM and Aquis shares can be held in a standard ISA. A company trading close to the value of its bitcoin is the only practical way to hold bitcoin inside one.
Against that, shareholders rank behind lenders at four of the 14 companies, running costs and share sales reduce asset value each year, and companies pay corporation tax on their bitcoin gains. An individual holding an ETN pays nothing until they sell.
The next test is MORE. It needs £10m, three market makers and half its shares in public hands before it can list. If it succeeds, other companies will follow. If it does not, Smarter Web's premium is likely to go the way of the others.
Sources: company RNS announcements and audited accounts; LSE, Aquis and Hargreaves Lansdown price pages; Revolut and CoinGecko for the bitcoin price. Net bitcoin is holdings at £63,300 less disclosed borrowings. Cash, other crypto and operating businesses are excluded. Not investment advice.
