Fresh Purchase Propels Treasury to 2,650 BTC
Bristol-based Smarter Web Company (SWC) disclosed this morning that it has acquired an additional 100 bitcoin for 12.1 million USD, paying an average of roughly 120,480 USD per coin. The regulatory news filing shows the firm’s treasury swelling to 2,650 BTC—now worth about 219.5 million USD—less than five years after it first began converting excess cash into the digital asset. Chief executive Andrew Webley said the transaction is “fully aligned with our 10-Year Plan to maximise long-term shareholder value through disciplined bitcoin accumulation.” According to management, the strategy has already lifted net asset value by 50 percent year-to-date while generating what the company describes as a 57,718 percent “BTC yield,” a figure that reflects unrealised gains since inception rather than ordinary income.
Funding for the latest purchase was split between free cash flow from the group’s web-services division and a modest draw on its standing 75-million-pound revolving credit facility. In a brief follow-up call with analysts, finance chief Emily Davison stressed that borrowing costs remain “comfortably below” the firm’s internal hurdle rate for bitcoin appreciation, keeping leverage well inside board-approved limits.
A Playbook Popularised by MicroStrategy Gains UK Momentum
SWC’s aggressive treasury policy echoes the path blazed in 2020 by US-listed MicroStrategy, whose market value more than quadrupled after it switched its core reserve asset to bitcoin. Since then, more than one hundred public companies around the world have followed suit, including Metaplanet in Tokyo and Capital B in Paris. Industry data now ranks Smarter Web Company thirtieth globally in terms of corporate bitcoin holdings and the clear leader in the United Kingdom, ahead of Satsuma Technology’s roughly 1,140 BTC.
Analysts at Canaccord Genuity note that SWC shares have climbed about 150 percent in 2025, at one point briefly valuing the company at 1 billion pounds—performance that places it near the top of the FTSE 350. Yet executives insist the stock remains “almost certainly undervalued,” pointing to discounts in peers whose market capitalisations have slipped below the fair value of the bitcoin they hold. Webley confirmed that the board is actively evaluating take-overs of distressed rivals as a means to acquire additional coins at a discount.
Contrasting Voices in the City
Not everyone is convinced. Three days ago, Hargreaves Lansdown—the nation’s largest retail investment platform—advised clients to steer clear of cryptocurrency, arguing that bitcoin “has no intrinsic value” and remains unsuitable for mainstream portfolios. The caution came just as the Financial Conduct Authority lifted its ban on exchange-traded crypto products, paving the way for retail access later this week. Hargreaves said it may permit “appropriate clients” to trade crypto-linked notes in early 2026, but maintained that the asset class is too speculative for most savers.
Strategic Implications for UK Capital Markets
With SWC now holding more than 200 million USD worth of bitcoin, London has gained a high-profile case study in debt-financed digital-asset accumulation. Supporters argue that the move diversifies corporate balance sheets, attracts new shareholders, and positions companies for upside as bitcoin supply tightens after the 2024 halving. Critics counter that the strategy magnifies volatility, introduces complex accounting challenges, and could leave firms over-leveraged if the market turns.
For now, Smarter Web Company shows no sign of easing off the accelerator. Management reiterated guidance that it will “continue to deploy available liquidity into bitcoin” while using capital markets opportunistically to fund further buys. Whether that conviction ultimately proves visionary or reckless will hinge on the same variable driving the broader crypto debate—the future price trajectory of the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
