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Mode Adds Bitcoin to Reserves, Joining Microstrategy and Square

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A UK-based fintech firm has just announced a large purchase of bitcoin using its cash reserves. Mode Global Holdings, an already bitcoin-friendly financial company, has become the first UK publicly traded firm to allocate part of its reserves to the cryptocurrency.

The announcement follows those of Microstrategy and Square. As many cryptocurrency industry observers suspected, Microstrategy’s August revelation appears to now be inspiring others.

Currency Debasement Prompts Mode to Invest 10% of Cash Reserves

First, there was Michael Saylor’s Microstrategy. Then, came Jack Dorsey’s Square. The two companies adding BTC to their balance sheets reveal an emerging appetite for bitcoin as protection against inflation and economic crises.

Mode is the latest publicly-listed company to realize bitcoin’s importance. The UK fintech firm announced the decision via press release on Wed 21 Oct.

Mode has reportedly allocated 10% of its cash reserves on its balance sheet to bitcoin. Motivating the decision is the uncertain global macro-economic outlook in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The firm says that the bitcoin allocation is an effort to protect the assets of investors from currency debasement. It mentions record low UK interest rates of 0.1% in its justification.

The company recently completed an IPO in which it raised £7.5 million. The press release states that the decision to invest in bitcoin is an effort to “maximize the value of returns” from its IPO.

Despite its recent investment foray into bitcoin, Mode is no stranger to the digital asset. It describes itself as “the bitcoin banking app.” It also sells BTC, as well as the ability to generate interest from holdings.

Another Public Company Finds Refuge in BTC

As mentioned, Mode is by no means the first publicly-listed company to take on exposure in bitcoin. Illustrating this shift is Microstrategy CEO, Michael Saylor. In 2013, Saylor publicly dismissed bitcoin on Twitter:

After eventually doing some research into the cryptocurrency this year, Saylor completely changed his mind.

Recent appearances on various industry podcasts, along with passionate tweets like that below, have quickly elevated the CEO to legendary status in Bitcoin circles:

Whereas Bitcoin previously appeared to represent a tool for criminals, it’s now emerging as a hedge against macro uncertainty. Like Mode, both Microstrategy and Square cited their own concerns about fiat currency debasement in the wake of unprecedented coronavirus stimulus packages around the world.

The nature of these businesses lends themselves to such investments. Both Square and Mode are well-accustomed to the cryptocurrency industry, having both offered BTC exposure for some time.

In the case of Microstrategy, the board of directors is just five-strong with Michael Saylor controlling around 72% of the voting power. It, therefore, would have been much more likely for Microstrategy to invest in BTC compared to other publicly-listed companies.

Some industry observers believe that this is just the beginning of a steepening institutional adoption curve.

The post Mode Adds Bitcoin to Reserves, Joining Microstrategy and Square appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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All content in this article is for informational purposes only and in no way serves as investment advice. Investing in cryptocurrencies, commodities and stocks is very risky and can lead to capital losses.
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