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Bitcoin price swings can change a company’s reported earnings and the value of its assets without adding to or draining its cash. Under U.S. GAAP, companies that apply Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2023-08 to qualifying crypto assets generally remeasure them at fair value each reporting date and recognize changes in net income. Whether Bitcoin can help pay bills is a separate question: it depends on whether the company can sell or borrow against it, its financing options, and the timing of its obligations.
How Bitcoin price changes reach reported earnings
ASU 2023-08, Accounting for and Disclosure of Crypto Assets, requires crypto assets within its scope to be measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognized in net income, with separate presentation and disclosure. For a company applying this treatment to its Bitcoin, a price increase can produce an accounting gain and a price decline an accounting loss, even if it has not sold any Bitcoin. The standard concerns U.S. GAAP and qualifying assets; it should not be treated as a universal rule for every company or jurisdiction. Block’s 2025 Form 10-K describes the standard and its adoption.
Adoption timing matters
Companies did not all adopt the standard at the same time. Strategy says it adopted ASU 2023-08 on January 1, 2025, while Block says it early adopted in the fourth quarter of 2023. Strategy reports that fair-value changes appear in its statement of operations and that Bitcoin is carried at fair value on each reporting-date balance sheet. It also says the new treatment increased volatility in its financial results. Strategy’s 2025 Form 10-K provides its adoption date and accounting disclosures.
The earlier impairment model was different
Before adoption, the filings describe an impairment approach under which a price decline could reduce Bitcoin’s carrying value, but a later recovery was not recognized until sale. Strategy reported $4.06 billion in cumulative Bitcoin impairments through December 31, 2024 under those prior accounting periods. That historical figure uses a different accounting model from post-adoption fair-value results, so it is not a like-for-like measure of subsequent earnings effects.
What company filings show—and what they do not
Reported results illustrate how materially fair-value accounting can affect individual issuers, but these examples are company-specific, not an estimate of the effect across all Bitcoin-holding companies.
| Company and period | Reported Bitcoin valuation result | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Block, year ended December 31, 2025 | $55.9 million remeasurement loss; Block reported a $420.9 million gain for 2024. | Block’s 2025 Form 10-K distinguishes Bitcoin held as a treasury investment from Bitcoin held briefly to facilitate customer transactions. Filing |
| MARA, year ended December 31, 2025 | $422.2 million decrease in the change in fair value of Bitcoin holdings. | MARA says it retained most Bitcoin as a treasury asset, while also selling some to fund operating expenses, lending Bitcoin, and pledging Bitcoin in connection with borrowing. Filing |
These figures should not be ranked as if they measured identical exposures. A meaningful company-to-company comparison also needs the accounting regime and adoption date, Bitcoin’s size relative to cash and cash equivalents, the purpose of the holdings, near-term debt and dividend obligations, and whether the company sells, lends, or pledges Bitcoin.
Rank #2
Why an earnings gain is not cash
A fair-value gain is a change in the measured value of an asset, not cash received from a customer or from selling Bitcoin. Likewise, a fair-value loss can reduce reported earnings without requiring an immediate cash payment. The actual cash effects arise from transactions and obligations: a company may sell Bitcoin, borrow against it, lend it, pledge it as collateral, or leave it untouched. Each route has different consequences for liquidity and risk.
Bitcoin held as a treasury investment is therefore not automatically equivalent to cash and cash equivalents. Even if its market value is high, the company’s ability to use it depends on execution, custody and collateral arrangements, financing availability, and whether proceeds arrive in time to meet bills. Tax treatment and contractual terms can also affect the outcome; a valuation change alone does not establish a company’s tax bill or solvency.
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Strategy: a reserve alongside Bitcoin
Strategy says its Bitcoin does not generate cash flows on its own. It describes a management-designated USD Reserve intended to support preferred-stock dividends and interest on debt. The company reported $2.25 billion in that reserve as of February 13, 2026; this is Strategy’s specified reserve for those obligations, not a general benchmark for corporate cash reserves. Strategy warns that a significant Bitcoin price decline or other adverse factors could make financing more difficult. If the reserve were depleted and financing unavailable, it says it might need to sell Bitcoin to meet obligations, potentially at unfavorable prices. These are stated risks, not a prediction that a sale will occur. Strategy’s 2025 Form 10-K describes the reserve and related risks.
MARA: Bitcoin used in several ways
MARA’s disclosures show why “held as a treasury asset” does not necessarily mean “untouched.” It reported selling some Bitcoin to fund operating expenses, lending Bitcoin, and pledging Bitcoin in connection with borrowing, while retaining most as a treasury asset and available source of liquidity. Sales can provide cash; lending and collateral arrangements involve different access and risk considerations. These activities do not make all of the company’s holdings freely available on demand.
Questions that clarify a company’s actual position
- What accounting applies, and when did the issuer adopt it? A reported gain or loss needs to be read in the context of the company’s accounting treatment and reporting period.
- How large is Bitcoin relative to cash and near-term needs? A headline Bitcoin value does not show whether cash covers upcoming interest, principal maturities, or declared or cumulative preferred dividends.
- What can the company do with its holdings? Check whether it plans to sell Bitcoin, has lent or pledged it, or expects to rely on equity or debt financing.
- What is the holding for? Bitcoin kept as a treasury investment may have a different role from Bitcoin held temporarily to support customer transactions or used in other activities.
The reviewed filings do not establish a harmonized, portfolio-wide statistic for Bitcoin’s effect on corporate earnings or reserve adequacy. A company’s own period-specific disclosures, obligations, and liquidity plan are more informative than treating a few issuers’ results as representative of all companies.
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