Capital markets · 11 min · Mar 21, 2026
Capital markets strategy: convertibles, ATM programs, and the BTC flywheel
Once Bitcoin is the reserve asset, the cost of capital can invert. The market starts underwriting the stack, not the cash.
Priya Nandakumar, Head of Capital Markets
The flywheel, without the folklore
There is a clean version of the story and a sloppy one. The sloppy one says “issue stock, buy Bitcoin, watch the multiple expand, repeat.” The clean version is more constrained. A company with a transparent BTC reserve, conservative leverage, and a real operating business can use equity and convertible markets to accelerate accumulation — but only when the issuance is accretive on a BTC-per-share basis.
That last clause is the whole job. Dilution in share count is not inherently a failure. Dilution in Bitcoin per share is. Every ATM print, every convertible, every preferred should be modeled as a BTC yield problem: how many sats does the company acquire per incremental share, and what happens to that ratio if Bitcoin is cut in half before the next raise.
Instruments with adult supervision
Convertible notes can be a gift when the embedded option is priced by a market that still underestimates the asset’s long-run convexity. They can be a trap when coupons, caps, and hedges reintroduce the leverage you just swore off. We favor simple structures, long dated, with proceeds converted to BTC on a published calendar rather than a trader’s discretion.
At-the-market equity programs are similar. Used as a standing authorization with BTC-per-share guardrails, they are a professional tool. Used as a reflex whenever the stock rips, they become a reputation problem. The desk’s role is to install the guardrails in the indenture of process, not in a slide.
What investors actually buy
Over time, a well-run Bitcoin treasury stops being a software story with a crypto kicker. It becomes a listed wrapper around a growing stock of digital property plus an operating company that funds itself. Some investors will want the operating leverage; some will want the coins. The reporting stack has to serve both without lying to either. That is why we insist on BTC held, BTC per share, and fully diluted counts in the same table, every time.