Bitcoin Shatters $124,000 Record as $15 Billion Digital Treasury Wave Transforms Corporate America

USA News Group News Commentary

Issued on behalf of CEA Industries, Inc.

VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 26, 2025 /CNW/ -- USA News Group News Commentary – Bitcoin hit new all-time highs above $124,000 in August as institutional demand reached unprecedented levels, with digital asset treasuries raising $15 billion in 2025 alone—eclipsing traditional venture funding for the first time in crypto history. The surge reflects a seismic shift as public companies now hold 951,000 BTC worth over $100 billion, while crypto treasury firms have become the most liquid trading vehicles on U.S. exchanges. This transformation from speculative betting to strategic corporate finance has attracted Fortune 500 companies, mining giants, and technology leaders who recognize digital assets as essential hedges against inflation and currency debasement in an era of unprecedented monetary expansion. Leading this corporate revolution are CEA Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: BNC), Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE: CRCL), Upexi, Inc. (NASDAQ: UPXI), Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ: BITF) (TSX: BITF), and MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA).

Wall Street analysts project corporate Bitcoin allocations could reach $330 billion over the next five years, up from $80 billion currently, as companies deploy sophisticated capital market strategies including convertible debt, equity offerings, and specialized treasury vehicles. The regulatory landscape has fundamentally shifted under Trump's crypto-friendly administration, with Treasury Secretary Bessent declaring America's digital asset frontier "open again" while the landmark GENIUS Act provides clear stablecoin frameworks that institutional investors have long demanded.

CEA Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: BNC) isn't your typical cryptocurrency story. While other companies scrambled to catch the Bitcoin wave or jumped on the latest trend, this Colorado-based firm made a calculated bet that could reshape how institutional investors think about digital assets.

In August 2025, CEA Industries completed a massive $500 million private placement specifically earmarked for one purpose: building the world's largest corporate treasury of BNB tokens. The company immediately signaled its commitment by changing its ticker symbol from VAPE to BNC, reflecting its new identity as the premier publicly traded gateway to the BNB ecosystem.

But what exactly is BNB? Think of it as the fuel that powers one of the world's busiest blockchain networks. BNB (originally called Binance Coin) is the native cryptocurrency of the BNB Chain ecosystem, which processes millions of transactions daily for everything from trading and payments to smart contracts and decentralized applications.

Unlike Bitcoin, which primarily serves as digital gold, BNB has real-world utility baked into its design. Users can stake it to earn rewards, pay transaction fees at discounted rates, and participate in the growing decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Perhaps most importantly, BNB features a quarterly "auto-burn" mechanism that permanently removes tokens from circulation, creating built-in scarcity that could benefit long-term holders.

Here's where CEA Industries gets interesting. The company didn't just raise money and hope for the best. They assembled what might be the most impressive crypto-focused management team on Wall Street.

David Namdar, co-founder of Galaxy Digital (one of the largest crypto investment firms), stepped in as CEO. Russell Read, former Chief Investment Officer at CalPERS (managing over $400 billion in assets) and Deputy CIO of Deutsche Bank Asset Management, joined as CIO. The board welcomed Hans Thomas, founding partner of 10X Capital, the firm managing BNC's treasury strategy.

This isn't a group of crypto newcomers making speculative bets. These are seasoned financial professionals who've managed billions of dollars and understand institutional-grade risk management.

The results speak for themselves. In August 2025, BNC announced the purchase of 200,000 BNB tokens worth approximately $160 million, officially making it the largest corporate holder of BNB globally. This wasn't just a headline grab—it demonstrated the company's ability to execute on its strategy quickly and at scale.

The timing appears strategic. While BNB consistently ranks among the top five cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, most U.S. investors still can't buy it directly through traditional brokerage accounts. CEA Industries recognized this gap and positioned itself as the solution, offering regulated, SEC-compliant access to BNB exposure without the complexity of crypto wallets or exchange accounts.

The company's financial backing adds credibility to its mission. The $500 million raise attracted over 140 institutional and crypto-native investors, including Pantera Capital, Arche Capital, ExodusPoint Capital Management, and Blockchain.com. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. served as lead financial advisor, bringing Wall Street expertise to the strategy.

What sets BNC apart from other crypto treasury companies is its singular focus. While competitors diversify across multiple digital assets, CEA Industries made an all-in bet on BNB Chain's ecosystem growth. The company believes this focused approach will allow it to capture maximum value as institutional adoption accelerates.

The potential upside follows historical patterns. When MicroStrategy adopted Bitcoin as its primary treasury asset in 2020, the stock gained nearly 2,000% at its peak. Similar treasury strategies by companies like Janover (Solana) and MetaPlanet (Bitcoin) produced dramatic stock price moves following their announcements.

CEA Industries has positioned itself to potentially benefit from this same dynamic, but with an asset that powers one of the most active blockchain ecosystems on Earth. With plans to deploy the remaining treasury capital and potential access to an additional $750 million through warrant exercises, BNC appears built for the long game in an ecosystem that's just getting started.

CONTINUED… Read this and more news for CEA Industries at:  https://usanewsgroup.com/2025/08/11/beat-wall-street-to-the-trade-that-500-million-just-backed/

Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE: CRCL) has achieved record-breaking growth in its USDC stablecoin circulation, reaching $61.3 billion at quarter end—a 90% year-over-year increase that has continued expanding to $65.2 billion as of August 10, 2025. The company's total revenue and reserve income grew 53% year-over-year to $658 million while completing a successful $1.2 billion IPO that established Circle as the leading regulated stablecoin issuer. USDC now commands a 28% stablecoin market share with 5.7 million meaningful wallets holding the digital currency.

"Circle's successful IPO in June marked a pivotal moment—not just for our company, but for the broader adoption of stablecoins and the growth of the new internet financial system," said Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, CEO and Chairman at Circle. "This is an extraordinary moment for our company and industry, and we are seeing accelerating interest in building on stablecoins and partnering with Circle across every significant sector of the financial industry, with major internet companies and commercial engagement all around the world."

Circle is launching Arc, an open Layer-1 blockchain designed specifically for stablecoin payments with USDC as native gas, while expanding strategic partnerships with Binance, Corpay, FIS, Fiserv, and OKX to accelerate adoption. The company projects 40% compound annual growth for USDC circulation through multi-year cycles while building the world's largest stablecoin network.

Upexi, Inc. (NASDAQ: UPXI) has surpassed 2 million SOL in its treasury holdings worth approximately $334 million, representing a dramatic 172% increase from 735,692 SOL at the end of June 2025 following a $200 million capital raise. The company holds approximately 0.0339 SOL per common share and generates approximately $65,000 daily through an 8% staking yield on substantially all treasury holdings. Upexi strategically acquired approximately 57% of its Solana portfolio as locked SOL at mid-teens discounts to spot prices.

"During the month, we raised over $200 million and grew our Solana holdings by over 172% to 2 million SOL," said Allan Marshall, CEO of Upexi. "And we continued to generate additional value for shareholders via an estimated 8% staking yield and additional purchases of discounted locked Solana."

Upexi continues expanding its Solana treasury through strategic purchases while benefiting from network upgrades including increased block limits to 100 million compute units and the launch of REX-Osprey's Solana Staking ETF. The company trades at competitive valuations with a Basic mNAV of 0.88x while maintaining its core consumer products business alongside its cryptocurrency treasury strategy.

Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ: BITF) (TSX: BITF) has reported strong operational results with $78 million in revenue and earned 718 Bitcoin at an average direct cost of $48,200 per BTC while maintaining 1,402 Bitcoin holdings (as of August 11, 2025). The company generated $100 million in proceeds from selling 1,052 Bitcoin at an average price of $95,500 during Q2 2025, demonstrating effective treasury management alongside mining operations. Bitfarms operates 17.7 exahash per second of mining capacity while expanding into high-performance computing and AI development.

"Our North American energy portfolio positions Bitfarms to be a leader in HPC and AI infrastructure," said Ben Gagnon, CEO of Bitfarms. "With over 1 GW in our Pennsylvania pipeline, anchored by our flagship Panther Creek campus which is in close proximity to Amazon and CoreWeave sites, we aim to capture significant market share in what is quickly emerging as a new AI infrastructure hub."

Bitfarms has commenced a corporate share buyback program purchasing 4.9 million shares at an average price of $1.24 per share while establishing a second principal executive office in NYC and committing to convert to U.S. GAAP. The company is advancing its multi-year pipeline of over 1.3 GW capacity with partnerships including T5 Data Centers for HPC/AI development at its Panther Creek campus.

MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA) has produced 703 Bitcoin in July 2025 while increasing its Bitcoin holdings to 50,639 BTC, solidifying MARA's position as the second-largest publicly traded holder of Bitcoin globally. The company won 207 blocks during July and increased energized hashrate by 3% to 58.9 exahash per second despite facing higher global network difficulty. MARA maintains over $5 billion in liquid assets with nearly $1 billion raised recently to fund domestic growth and international expansion.

"Our Bitcoin holdings surpassed 50,000 BTC in July, a milestone that solidifies MARA as the second-largest publicly traded holder of Bitcoin globally," said Fred Thiel, Chairman and CEO of MARA. "More importantly, this is a treasury we built through disciplined infrastructure development, scaled operations, and focused execution. Looking ahead, what sets us apart is our thought leadership, worldwide operational scale, and capital and operational efficiency."

MARA is preparing to energize its Texas wind farm data center in the second half of 2025 while treating Bitcoin as a productive, risk-managed asset through disciplined treasury management strategies. The company's operational scale and capital efficiency position it for continued expansion in digital energy infrastructure and Bitcoin accumulation.

Article Sources: https://usanewsgroup.com/2025/08/11/beat-wall-street-to-the-trade-that-500-million-just-backed/ 

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