Semler Scientific acquires another $3 million in Bitcoin
Semler Scientific acquired an additional 47 Bitcoins (BTC) for $3 million using operating cash flow disclosed by the company in August. With this, the medical equipment company reached the mark of 1,058 BTC accumulated in cash.
With the appreciation of BTC, which reached US$84,000 this Monday (11), the company's stock is worth around US$80 million. In the statement, Semler stated that it will maintain its “laser focus” on purchasing more BTC.
“Laser focus” not Bitcoin
According to the latest quarterly report, Semler Scientific reported $13.5 million in revenue in the third quarter, a 17% drop compared to the previous quarter. Operating revenue was US$5.1 million, down US$1.2 million compared to the second quarter.
But Eric Semler, president of the company, reinforces the company's focus on Bitcoin. As the executive explained, the company is taking advantage of an opportunity to generate more value for shareholders using its BTC reserve.
In the future, Semler intends to continue purchasing Bitcoin with operating money from its cash desk. In addition, the company also intends to issue more shares and explore other ways to pursue the strategy.
“We are excited to report strong performance from our healthcare business with operating income of $5.1 million in the third quarter. We remain focused on acquiring and holding bitcoin while supporting the innovation and growth of our healthcare business,” said Doug Murphy-Chutorian, CEO of Semler Scientific.
With these acquisitions, Semler became the public company with the 17th largest BTC cash in the world, surpassing the Japanese Metaplanet, which holds 1,015.2 BTC according to data from the Bitcoin Treasuries website.
Corporate adoption on the rise
In recent years, a growing trend has seen companies investing in bitcoin as a strategic asset on their balance sheets. MicroStrategy, under the leadership of former CEO Michael Saylor, kicked off the strategy and saw companies like Semler and Metaplanet follow suit.
In August 2020, Saylor announced that the company would make a large-scale investment in Bitcoin. At the time, the still CEO of MicroStrategy cited BTC as a more effective store of value than cash.
Several companies have followed in their footsteps, including Semler, which made its first BTC purchase in May 2024, citing bitcoin's scarcity, fixed supply, and potential as an inflation hedge and safe haven amid global uncertainty. Since then, the company has made periodic purchases.
Semler made an initial purchase of 581 bitcoins for $40 million, including taxes and expenses, and confirmed that it has no plans to purchase other cryptocurrencies.
According to CoinGecko, BTC price records 6% gains in the last 24 hours and is worth $84,560. With this, the cryptocurrency once again established a new historic high.