Cardano & Polkadot Shock Markets: Altcoins Ditch Fiat for Bitcoin Treasury Reserves

Two major altcoins just flipped the script—and Wall Street's playbook. Cardano and Polkadot are proposing a radical shift: converting treasury assets to Bitcoin. Here's why it matters.

Defiance or desperation? The move comes as institutional investors pile into BTC ETFs while altcoins struggle for relevance. Both chains claim it's about 'hedging against fiat debasement'—but skeptics see a survival tactic.

The crypto establishment is split. Bitcoin maximalists cheer while DeFi purists warn of centralization risks. Meanwhile, traditional finance analysts mutter about 'speculative assets backing speculative assets'—proving they still don't get it.

One thing's certain: if this triggers a domino effect, the 2025 bull run just got its most explosive narrative yet. Brace for volatility—and watch those 'stable' fiat reserves crumble faster than a central banker's credibility.

• Cardano and Polkadot are planning to buy Bitcoin using parts of their own tokens.
• These steps follow Bitcoin’s growing role as a treasury asset in public firms.
• Meanwhile, a renewed debate on burning old Bitcoin tied to quantum risks is gaining attention.

Cardano and Polkadot, two of the crypto industry’s longer-standing projects, are looking to bring Bitcoin into their treasury plans.

As revealed in a CoinShares report, Cardano is pushing a proposal to swap $100 million worth of ADA tokens for a mix of BTC and stablecoins. Polkadot is exploring a smaller move, considering a $1–2 million conversion from its DOT holdings.

The reason behind this pivot is clear: they want to introduce BTC-related services within their ecosystems and manage their treasuries in a more balanced way.

Over the past month, multiple altcoin protocols have proposed purchasing @Bitcoin by selling their own project tokens.

Let's take a closer look at @Cardano and @Polkadot, both of which have proposed purchasing Bitcoin.

₳ Cardano proposal: Convert $100m of its project token… pic.twitter.com/xh1DZM5PwQ

Both ADA and DOT have, over time, underperformed next to BTC, and these proposals seem consistent with that understanding. Ownership in Bitcoin, a more liquidated and respected asset, could provide the financial solidity these projects seek as their respective native coins fail.

This is nothing new; already, MicroStrategy has entered the fray, buying 145,000 BTC in the year to date. In contrast, altcoin offers for bitcoin are modest.

Even presuming they invest 1–10% of their treasuries, it WOULD be roughly $100 million to $1.3 billion, which is nowhere near enough for creating any serious impact on the market, especially when compared with the massive weekly inflows in 2025 into Bitcoin ETFs.

Bitcoin Hardfork Debate Returns With Quantum Concerns

While there are altcoins considering the inclusion of BTC in treasuries, there is debate in the Bitcoin space regarding coin burning belonging to old, quantum-prone addresses. Developers claim it can prevent future risks due to quantum computing.

But technologies like these are well beyond a decade, and opponents argue the action runs contrary to BTC’s basic tenet of Immutable possession; coins that aren’t spent could simply become unavailable, rather than abandoned.

Roughly 1.7 million BTC fall into this category, but only around 10,200 BTC are large enough to cause a minor market wave. Even if all of them suddenly moved, the effect would be temporary, no greater than a regular, large-scale sell-off by a BTC whale. The market has already proven its ability to absorb similar activity.

Altcoins Embrace Bitcoin as Treasury Logic Evolves

Certain altcoins, such as cardano and Polkadot, are considering holding BTC to expand their treasuries, not to replicate Terra Luna’s failed strategy, but to benefit from BTC’s stronger performance with reduced risk.

However, widespread usage is unlikely due to community politics, bad publicity, and reluctance in sidelining home coins, as even the solana founder reminded us.

But the action speaks louder than words. Projects are slowly returning to BTC after initially trying to migrate away from it, not necessarily due to an ideological alignment, but simply because BTC does function. It’s secure and stable, and it’s spearheading the adoption drive in crypto and regular finance.