The number of Bitcoin-centered companies is growing. More than that, more and more companies from other sectors set corporate Bitcoin treasuries as an inflation hedge. However, most of these companies don’t disclose Bitcoin addresses. Why is there reluctance in disclosing corporate addresses, and is there a chance these companies don’t actually hold the bitcoins they claim to own?
Bitwise’s move
On Jan. 24, 2024, Bitwise made history by becoming the first company to disclose its spot Bitcoin ETF address for everyone.
By disclosing its Bitcoin ETF address, Bitwise explicitly made it impossible for skeptics to doubt its solvency and the fact that the company actually holds what it claims to own. More than that, this step towards transparency is in line with the transparent design of the Bitcoin network itself, where all the transactions and the parties involved are visible and auditable.
As Bitwise is one of the biggest Bitcoin holders, some observers suggested that other corporate holders will follow the trend and make their treasuries transparent. However, it didn’t happen. Nearly one and a half years after the disclosure made by Bitwise, no other Bitcoin holding company followed suit.
Possible improvements
Did Bitwise do it the best possible way? Co-author of the Big Bitcoin Book, Fred Krueger, took to X to outline how it is possible to disclose BTC addresses with some improvements, using Bitwise as a reference point. Actually, Krueger made his post as a recommendation to Strategy.
Interestingly enough, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley shared Krueger’s post in his account, not shying away from exposing what Krueger believes to be weak spots of Bitwise’s way of making disclosure.
One of the ideas offered by Krueger was that Strategy should use cryptographic ownership proof, which Bitwise doesn’t have. He notes that just providing a wallet address is not transparent enough, as it should also be signed.
On top of that, Kureger pointed out that sharing only one address (that’s what Bitwise did) is good, but as funds are moving, the company needs to provide several more addresses. They will naturally appear as a result of rebalancing and other operations.
Another idea was that Strategy should disclose addresses with caution and not expose too much in order to prevent quantum attacks, which are theoretically possible, while many doubt that the Bitcoin network will suffer from them.
Krueger recommended using unspent Taproot and SegWit addresses for public balances. Once they are used, they should be replaced by new ones. It would mitigate quantum hacking risks.
On top of sharing the addresses, Krueger recommended deploying third-party audits to ensure the authenticity and soundness of addresses for everyone, including institutions and regulators. More than that, automated real-time cryptographic proofs could enhance transparency even further.
Addresses of other companies
Lack of transparency may give companies some space for maneuver, or at least people think that sometimes companies holding Bitcoin may cash out in secret. Some even doubt that companies like Strategy actually own the bitcoins they buy and demand public disclosure of the corporate addresses.
As of May 20, 2025, Strategy owns over 570,000 bitcoins, which makes it the biggest Bitcoin holder among companies. On May 19, it was revealed that Strategy is facing a class action lawsuit. A group of investors claimed that the company reps, including executives, were making misleading claims about Bitcoin strategy. Probably, increased transparency would have eliminated such problems before they appeared.
While companies are not in a hurry to show their Bitcoin addresses, third-party sleuths are finding these addresses and making them public. It provides people with much-needed confidence and opportunities to observe the movements of the assets. At the same time, companies may not admit that these findings are correct.
By the end of January 2025, Arkham Intelligence identified 96% of Strategy’s addresses. According to Arkham’s findings, most bitcoins belonging to Strategy come from Coinbase Prime and Anchorage Digital and are stored via Fidelity Digital omnibus custody.
The largest Asian Bitcoin holder, a Japanese company Metaplanet, is going to accumulate 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025 and add 21,000 BTC more in 2026. The company is famous for its consistent periodic buy-ins of Bitcoin. However, we mostly know about them from Financial Statements that don’t contain Bitcoin addresses. As of May 20, Metaplanet holds 7,800 BTC. Just like any company, except Bitwise, Metaplanet is not sharing its address information.
