UK’s The Smarter Web Company adds $20 million in bitcoin, taking total holdings past 500 BTC

The Smarter Web Company, a UK web design firm that has transitioned into a bitcoin treasury-focused company, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired an additional 196.9 BTC for £15.2 million ($20.3 million) at an average purchase price of £77,122 ($103,290) per bitcoin.

The Aquis-listed firm now holds a total of 543.52 BTC — bought at an average price of £77,988 ($104,450) per bitcoin for a total cost of £42.4 million ($56.8 million).

The Smarter Web Company offers web design, development, and online marketing services, generating revenue from setup fees, annual hosting fees, and optional monthly charges. It has accepted bitcoin payments since 2023 and began integrating a bitcoin treasury policy in April as part of its belief in Bitcoin's role in the future financial system.

The firm's 10-Year Plan focuses on expanding its client base organically and through selective acquisitions of bitcoin to deliver long-term value to shareholders and fund future growth.

From £4 million to £1 billion in two months

The Smarter Web Company is the largest of around a dozen UK firms that have adopted or plan to adopt a bitcoin treasury strategy. The second-largest is Phoenix Digital Assets with 250 BTC ($26 million), followed by Coinsilium with 43.11 BTC ($4.5 million), according to Bitcoin Treasuries data. In fact, around 10% of companies listed on Aquis now have bitcoin exposure or are raising funds to buy bitcoin.

The Smarter Web Company was listed on the Aquis Stock Exchange under the ticker SWC through a reverse takeover and began trading on April 25. It subsequently rose nearly 20,000% following the announcement of its bitcoin treasury strategy, before plunging around 50% on Tuesday. That remarkable rise took the web design firm from a fully diluted market cap of £3.7 million ($5 million) following its IPO to over £1 billion ($1.4 billion) — more than the likes of Aston Martin, with founder Andrew Webley aiming for it to become an FTSE 100 company. The price surge made The Smarter Web Company the largest Aquis-listed firm, with the next most valuable Mears Group worth less than £350 million ($476 million). 

SWC/GBP price chart. Image: TradingView.

Aquis is a UK stock exchange for small and mid-sized growth companies, with fewer than 100 listed firms and a combined market cap of under £5 billion ($6.8 billion). It offers a lower-cost alternative to the London Stock Exchange's main markets but remains significantly smaller than the FTSE 100's £2 trillion ($2.7 trillion) and FTSE 250's £400 to £500 billion ($5.4 billion to $6.8 billion), with far less liquidity and institutional visibility. For comparison, if traded on the LSE, The Smarter Web Company's current market cap would place it in the top half of the FTSE 250.

The UTXO Management connection

The Smarter Web Company is also one of a growing number of global firms launching bitcoin treasury strategies advised by David Bailey's UTXO Management. Bailey and CIO Tyler Evans both serve on The Smarter Web Company's board and UTXO Management invested in the firm pre-IPO. Bailey is also CEO of Bitcoin Magazine and founder of Nakamoto — which recently raised its own bitcoin treasury target to $763 million. UTXO Management is also an investor in other bitcoin treasury companies, including Metaplanet and The Blockchain Group.

While The Smarter Web Company's board believes holding bitcoin is in the firm's best interest, it acknowledges that the UK's financial regulator, the FCA, views the investment as high risk.

Coinbase Institutional's Global Head of Research, David Duong, recently warned that leveraged corporate crypto buying may eventually pose "systemic risks," although he said that the pressure appears limited in the short term.