Why Altvest Became Africa’s First Publicly-Listed Firm to Add Bitcoin to Treasury Reserve

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TL;DR,

• African Bitcoin Corporation becomes Africa’s first publicly-listed firm to adopt bitcoin treasury strategy, purchasing 1.00464 BTC and raising R3.68 billion to expand holdings.
•  Equity route gives pensions compliant BTC exposure; dual-engine model blends operating cash flows with appreciating reserves to grow BTC per share via NAV premiums.
• The company’s “accretive dilution” approach incrementally builds BTC holdings per share while maintaining cash-generating SME financing business.

Altvest Capital, the JSE-listed, South African SME financing and financial services firm, made history by becoming Africa’s first organisation to list Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset.

Following this bold step, the platform rebranded to the African Bitcoin Corporation(ABC). Warren Wheatley, Altvest’s CEO, and tech entrepreneur Stafford Masie, seeing the institutional adoption of Bitcoin, took a literal leap of faith, becoming Africa’s pioneer institute.

However, the main question remains: why did ABC take the turn, and will its version of the Bitcoin Treasury strategy truly apply to the African capital-market realities?

Why Put Bitcoin on the Balance Sheet? The Altvest Rationale

ABC’s approach wasn’t solely focused on buying coins to hedge against inflation while leveraging BTC’s value retention. Its focus was on building a structure catering to Africa’s capital markets, as per its CEO’s thesis revolved around using globally liquid, verifiable scarce assets to fortify the corporate centre.

In October 2024, Altvest shifted from the Cape Town Stock Exchange to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange(JSE). Since 2022, the platform has raised an investment of over $28.5 million in SME enterprises offering alternative investments and financial services, including credit and equity funding. However, its monumental shift into the crypto space occurred in early 2025 after acquiring 1.00464 BTC.

This purchase kick-started its equity phased program, preventing an all‑at‑once leap into a new asset class.

So, we’ll accretively dilute our shareholders and essentially increment our BTC yield as we buy more bitcoin,” Warren explained.

ABC’s current pending shareholder gain added perks for both retail and institutional investors. While South Africa recognises Bitcoin a a financial product, many pension and regulated funds cannot buy BTC directly. The company offers such services under equity giving institutions willing to take the direct regulated exposure tied to functioning in business, and not a fund.

RELATED: Inside the Expanding African Bitcoin Ecosystem

The credible thesis around Bitcoin as Stored value proves it all. Its fixed supply, 24/7 global markets and growing demands make it a viable alternative to fiat-denominated reserves. Case in point, Strategy went from declining software revenues to raising its stock price by roughly 20-fold, reaching a market cap of $96.12 billion.

This followed a staged equity raise aiming for $210 million(R3.68 billion). This included earmarking 1 million new shares, especially for expanding its Bitcoin holdings, selling at R11($0.6) each. This Bitcoin Treasury strategy is called an “accretive dilution” to increase share count while incrementally building BTC as a Store of Value per share. Similar to global adopters, ABC’s goal is long-term profits with BTC rising.

What ABC Gains (and What Others Could)

A Bitcoin Treasury strategy has its perks aside from portfolio diversification. From the get-go go Masie revealed how the digital assets are a reliable store of value than ZAR or USD. It typically acts as an inflation hedge, fostering added advantages over the standard financial system. Strategy’s 20x gain is a prime example. Its fixed supply guarantees limited availability, and its halving every 4 years ensures value rises.

For ABC, there’s a chance to raise capital at premiums to their Bitcoin Holding net asset value(NAV). When a company trades over their BTC NAV, issuing new shares becomes “Bitcoin accretive”. This increases their holding per share while also providing added capital.

As a platform operating businesses in SME financing produces cash flows even when BTC isn’t at its peak. Conversely, when the community is hyped with an upswing, the reserve can uplift its NAV, providing a resilient dual-engine for profits.

RELATED: MicroStrategy Lawsuit and Bitcoin Strategy: Navigating Corporate Risks

Furthermore, when other models implement this Strategy with self-custody, it eliminates traditional risk inherent in cash, bonds and other financial instruments. It’s typically sovereign overnight over external entities like banks, governments or central banks. However, this greatly depends on an institution’s approach.

What It Means for African Capital Markets

The majority of African implementations focus mainly on utility rather than value. Africa Bitcoin Corporation’s bold move is historical, showcasing institutional adoption even amid African capital markets. The platform focuses on creating a compliant channel for pensions and unit trusts to access crypto, and if managed properly, can outpace its SME financing solutions.

“That’s going to allow us to grow our core business, which is to create wealth for individuals. And that purpose is whether it’s through funding your business or making alternative investment opportunities available to you.”

Warren Wheatley also recently joined the crypto hype in 2023 after witnessing its grand comeback from $17,000.

“And people are still going to be able to access alternative investment opportunities, including bitcoin. But most importantly, they’re going to still be able to access capital markets through us.”

For Alvest, it’s an initial transition to showcase a pragmatic version of corporate BTC adoption in Africa. The benefits are compelling (diversified reserves, broader investor reach, stronger brand), while the risks are manageable. The real question is how far ABC can take its Bitcoin treasury strategy in Africa. Currently, many finance startups like Tando, Saccos like BlockSacco, use BTC as a medium, showcasing that the thesis on Bitcoin as a Store of Value is a playbook many can get behind.