When most people think of crypto companies, they typically think of cryptocurrency mining companies, cryptocurrency exchanges, and financial institutions heavily involved with crypto assets. However, there are a growing number of companies that have extensive exposure to crypto without many people even realizing it.
One way to find these crypto stocks is by checking out the official holdings of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that specialize in blockchain and crypto. For example, if you take a look at the holdings for the Schwab Crypto Thematic ETF (NYSEMKT: STCE), which launched in 2022, you can see a number of names that seem incongruous at first. Three names particularly stand out: MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK), and AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE: AMC)
MicroStrategy
On the surface, MicroStrategy looks just like a typical software analytics company. The company provides software solutions to a wide range of financial services, retail, healthcare, and technology companies. But what it is best known for is the extensive amount of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) it holds on its balance sheet. As of Dec. 27, MicroStrategy held 132,500 Bitcoins, now worth over $2.7 billion. Given that the total market cap of MicroStrategy is just over $2.5 billion, it is easy to see how buying this company's stock is really just a proxy for buying Bitcoin.
Moreover, the former CEO (and now executive chairman) of the company is none other than Michael Saylor, one of the biggest Bitcoin bulls in the world. On the MicroStrategy website, there's an orange Bitcoin button -- once you press it, you'll be redirected to a new site with a collection of videos from Saylor extolling the virtues of crypto and Bitcoin.
Saylor has publicly predicted that the price of Bitcoin is going to $500,000, and he is positioning MicroStrategy to take advantage of this stratospheric new valuation. Until this year, it primarily meant accumulating more and more Bitcoin for the company. But in 2023, the company also plans to expand the number of software and enterprise infrastructure solutions it can provide related to the Bitcoin Lightning Network, which enables fast, secure, low-cost Bitcoin payments.