The Bitcoin question library
Bitcoin Q’s.
Understand Bitcoin. Know what you own.
Clear, sourced answers for Bitcoin investors: buying and securing bitcoin, ETFs, treasury companies and mNAV, digital credit and preferred shares, income funds, living off Bitcoin, options and market cycles. Search any question, pick a topic, or start with the questions below. Every answer links to its primary sources.
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- Topics
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- Guides
- 17
Questions
Treasury comparisons10
Topic guideQ083Where did Strive's latest capital raise go: Bitcoin, cash reserves, acquisitions or obligations?
Strive's latest reviewed update does not establish a complete, dollar-by-dollar allocation of one capital raise to every subsequent purchase or obligation. Its 6 November 2026 results describe the October SATS financing alongside treasury holdings, cash, marketable investments and broader capital plans; those disclosures should be read together.
Build a cash bridge: opening cash plus net financing and operating inflows, less Bitcoin purchases, acquisitions, security investments, obligations and expenses, equals closing cash after other adjustments. Separate permitted uses in an offering document from transactions actually completed.
Because company cash is fungible, a rise in Bitcoin holdings alone does not prove that every dollar of a particular raise bought Bitcoin. Where the issuer has not supplied that attribution, label the allocation unconfirmed and update it when a cash-flow statement or specific transaction disclosure resolves the gap.
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Q084How does Metaplanet's financing model compare with Strategy's?
Metaplanet and Strategy both use corporate financing to build Bitcoin exposure, but investors must compare instruments, currencies and shareholder claims individually. A similar objective does not produce identical risks or valuation measures.
Metaplanet's disclosure archive includes stock acquisition rights, bonds, convertible financing and repurchase notices. Strategy's structure includes several preferred securities and debt instruments as well as common equity. Each route changes the mix of current shares, potential shares, fixed claims and future cash demands.
Translate assets and obligations into one currency at a consistent time before calculating backing. Metaplanet's EV mNAV should not be compared directly with Strategy's current net-BPS multiple. Focus on net value per common share, financing terms and cash resilience rather than the size of the next announced Bitcoin purchase.
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Q086How does The Smarter Web Company's investment case differ from owning Bitcoin directly?
The Smarter Web Company gives you equity in a business with a Bitcoin treasury, not direct ownership of Bitcoin. Its website and digital-services activities, financing choices and corporate obligations sit alongside the treasury exposure.
That creates possible sources of value beyond holding coins, including business earnings and attractive capital allocation. It also creates expenses, execution risk, dilution and senior claims that a direct Bitcoin holding does not have. Its preferred funding must therefore be considered when assessing ordinary shareholders' backing.
Use consistent asset and share-count dates, value the operating business separately where justified, and examine cash generation rather than assuming treasury growth is profit. The company's U.S. OTC ticker TSWCF identifies a trading line for its ordinary shares; a different quotation venue does not remove the underlying company's risks.
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Q087What changes when I buy a foreign treasury company through its local listing or a U.S. OTC line?
A foreign listing or U.S. OTC line changes how you trade the exposure, while the underlying issuer's assets, obligations and business risks remain. Check whether you are buying ordinary shares or a depositary receipt; a receipt may represent a fraction or multiple of an ordinary share.
Trading hours, spreads, market depth, broker access, settlement arrangements and applicable fees can differ. A dollar quotation does not eliminate currency exposure. Hypothetically, an unchanged yen share price translates into a 10% lower dollar value if the yen falls 10% against the dollar, before costs.
The Smarter Web Company identifies SWC in London and TSWCF on OTCQB as ordinary-share trading lines. Verify the exact security and ratio before comparing prices, and translate both listings into the same currency at the same time.
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Q088Why own BMNR instead of ETH or a Bitcoin treasury company?
BMNR is an equity investment in Bitmine's ETH-centred treasury and related activities, so it expresses a different thesis from owning ETH directly or owning a Bitcoin treasury company. ETH and Bitcoin have different networks, monetary characteristics and sources of economic activity.
Bitmine's disclosures describe staking operations through MAVAN alongside treasury assets and other investments. These may create revenue, but common shareholders also bear operating expenses, financing claims, dilution and management decisions. Company staking income is not automatically a distribution to common holders.
Compare net asset value per share, the sustainability of net cash generation and the stock's valuation premium or discount. A direct ETH holding avoids the corporate capital structure but leaves custody and any chosen staking arrangements to the investor. Neither approach guarantees that blockchain adoption becomes an attractive investment return.
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Q090BMNP versus STRC: how do the underlying treasury assets, income sources and preferred risks differ?
BMNP and STRC are preferred equity in different issuers, not direct ownership of the crypto assets those issuers hold. BMNP is Bitmine's Series A perpetual preferred; STRC is Strategy's variable-rate perpetual preferred.
Bitmine's ETH-centred model includes staking income, with network, validator and withdrawal risks. Strategy's Bitcoin treasury does not earn a native staking reward; its payment capacity depends on its broader cash resources, operations and financing or asset monetisation. Treasury appreciation alone is not cash income.
Compare the governing terms for ranking, dividend declaration, accumulation of unpaid amounts, redemption and conversion rather than assuming the products match. Preferred shares are not bank deposits or bonds, and issuer asset holdings do not automatically give holders a direct collateral claim. A stated dividend rate differs from the yield available at your purchase price; neither establishes a guaranteed return.
Sources
Go deeper · 17 guides
Deep-dive guides.
Longer explanations with comparison tables, worked hypothetical examples and primary sources.
Topic guides15
- Bitcoin basicsBitcoin fundamentals: value, scarcity and the investment thesisUnderstand what Bitcoin provides, what scarcity does and how to assess a long-term investment thesis without relying on a price prediction.4 min
- Buying & custodyBuying and storing Bitcoin: a practical start-to-finish guideCompare providers, choose custody, rehearse transfers and keep the records and exit route you will need later.5 min
- Security & inheritanceBitcoin security and inheritance: make recovery work for your familyBuild a practical plan for backups, multisig, incapacity and inheritance so that authorised people can recover access safely.5 min
- ETFs & conversionsBitcoin ETFs and in-kind conversions: ownership, access and tax questionsUnderstand spot funds, compare their costs and distinguish everyday share trading from an eligible intermediary-assisted Bitcoin conversion.4 min
- Portfolio & retirementBitcoin in a retirement portfolio: spending, risk and account choicesAssess Bitcoin exposure against spending needs, stress scenarios, retirement-account rules and a practical plan for reviewing risk.5 min
- MSTR & valuationMSTR valuation and mNAV: what the numbers actually tell youUnderstand gross and net backing, changing mNAV definitions, premium compression and the difference between accounting gains and cash.4 min
- Bitcoin per shareBitcoin per share versus shareholder returnsSee why Bitcoin per share remains useful, when issuance can be accretive, and why investors can still lose money as the metric rises.5 min
- Buybacks & share countBitcoin buybacks, share scarcity and returning to old highsCompare discounted common buybacks, preferred repurchases and new issuance, and understand what a return to an old share price really requires.5 min
- Treasury comparisonsMSTR, ASST, Metaplanet, Smarter Web and BMNR: comparing treasury companiesBuild a consistent comparison of assets, financing, common-shareholder backing, foreign listings and ETH staking without treating every treasury stock as interchangeable.5 min
- Digital creditBitcoin digital credit: where the income comes from and what you ownUnderstand corporate preferred shares, personal Bitcoin-backed borrowing, payment priority and the difference between asset coverage and spendable cash.5 min
- Preferred sharesSTRC, STRF, STRK, STRD, SATA and SATS comparedCompare the issuers, dividend rights, conversion features, redemption risks and dated payment schedules before treating a preferred as an income investment.5 min
- Income fundsBitcoin income funds: distributions, total return and capital preservationUnderstand MSTY, BITA and their benchmarks, separate payout rates from profit, and compare the cash received with the value left behind.5 min
- Living off BitcoinLiving off Bitcoin: spending, borrowing and preserving retirement capitalBuild a retirement cash-flow plan with explicit spending assumptions, reserves, loan stress tests and sequence-risk scenarios instead of relying on a headline yield.5 min
- Options & leverageBitcoin options and leverage: payoffs, expiry and forced-sale riskCompare shares, LEAPS, covered calls, protective puts and leveraged funds using transparent examples, then separate useful market data from unsupported trading claims.5 min
- Cycles & indicatorsBitcoin cycles, liquidity and market indicatorsRead the 50-week and 200-week averages, PMI, Pi Cycle, ETF flows and on-chain measures without mistaking a signal for a prediction.5 min
Comparisons2
- ETFs & conversionsBitcoin, IBIT and MSTR: what do you actually own?Direct bitcoin, a Bitcoin trust share and a company share create different rights, responsibilities and risks.3 min
- Preferred sharesSTRC versus STRF: how the income structures differBoth are cumulative perpetual preferred shares, with different dividend-rate mechanics and positions within Strategy's preferred equity.3 min
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