Move Over, MicroStrategy: UK Firm Shocks Markets By Settling 80% of Convertible Debt in Bitcoin

London's latest crypto convert just pulled a page from Michael Saylor's playbook—with a British twist.

Corporate debt meets digital gold

A UK-based company just settled the majority of its convertible notes using Bitcoin instead of fiat. No half measures—this wasn't some token allocation to 'diversify' their treasury. They went all-in, bypassing traditional settlement channels entirely.

Why this stings legacy finance

While Wall Street still debates 'crypto as an asset class,' real businesses are voting with their balance sheets. The move comes as institutional adoption hits new highs—though skeptics will note it's easier to pay debts in volatile assets when you're betting on bailouts.

One thing's clear: the 'Bitcoin as corporate reserve' narrative just got another bullet point. Whether that's visionary or reckless depends which side of the 2008 crisis you're still processing.

Satsuma Settles Convertible Noted In Bitcoin

This event, which closed on July 28, marks the first known large-scale Bitcoin-denominated capital raise by a publicly listed company in London. With the move, Satsuma’s total bitcoin holdings now stand at 1,126 BTC, worth over $128 million at current rates, and the BTC is held by Satsuma Pte, the company’s Singapore-registered subsidiary.

According to data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET, Satsuma is the second-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin in the UK behind The Smarter Web Company. Its BTC holdings were bought at an average cost basis of $115,149. 

Henry K. Elder, CEO of Satsuma Technology, noted that the proceeds will be used to grow its decentralized AI infrastructure and bolster its digital asset reserves. It also noted transparency and that regular reporting on its BTC holdings will be part of its operational structure moving forward.

Stepping Into MicroStrategy’s Shadow

The scale and structure of Satsuma’s BTC acquisition can be compared to that of MicroStrategy. Under the leadership of its co-founder, Michael Saylor, the US intelligence and software firm has famously transformed itself into a quasi-Bitcoin ETF. MicroStrategy started its Bitcoin acquisition trend in 2020 with the acquisition of 21,454 BTC worth $250 million at the time. Since then, MicroStrategy has accumulated over 628,791 BTC with a total cost of $33.139 billion.

Satsuma may still be in the early stages of its Bitcoin journey, but the nature of its financing, taking in BTC directly rather than converting fiat post-raise, is a strategy that even MicroStrategy has not employed. 

MicroStrategy typically raises funds through bond offerings or stock sales and later deploys the capital into BTC. Satsuma, on the other hand, is accepting Bitcoin at the funding stage. The most recent fundraising round, which was led by ParaFi Capital, attracted support from major crypto companies such as Pantera Capital, Digital Currency Group (DCG), and Kraken.com. It also brought in backing from leading UK equity market participants managing a combined £300 billion in assets under management.

Satsuma’s MOVE comes at a time when regulatory attitudes in the UK are beginning to show signs of softening toward digital assets. If successful, the move could open the door for other publicly traded companies in Europe and beyond to begin incorporating Bitcoin into their balance sheets. At the time of writing, 3,658 BTC are being held by publicly listed companies in the UK, while 88 BTC are being held by private companies.