‘Mini MicroStrategy’ Semler Scientific Announces $17 Million Bitcoin Purchase

Semler Scientific (SMLR) – the healthcare technology firm turned Bitcoin believer – has announced its acquisition of another 247 BTC for its corporate balance sheet.

Semler Scientific Buys More Bitcoin

Per a company press release late Thursday, the new coins were acquired for $17 million including all fees and expenses, averaging $68,825 per coin. As of Friday, Bitcoin trades for $71,200 per coin.

The recent purchase brings the Bitcoin on Semler’s balance sheet up to 828 BTC, acquired for $57 million in aggregate. Thus far, the company is up a modest $1 million on its investment.

“Semler remains focused on our two strategies of expanding our healthcare business and acquiring and holding bitcoin,” said Doug Murphy-Chutorian, CEO of Semler Scientific, in a statement.

Semler announced last month that it was turning to Bitcoin as its “primary treasury reserve asset,” being the second publicly traded US company to vocally follow in the footsteps of MicroStategy (MSTR).

Mimicking the behavior of its larger predecessor, SMLR stock surged 33% the day it announced its first purchase, and spiked another 9% on Friday following the announcement.

Semler’s market cap is now $223 million – almost four times the value of the BTC on its balance sheet.

The Bitcoin Acquisition Trend

However, a Thursday SEC filing from Semler revealed that the company plans to execute a $150 million debt securities sale, from which the proceeds will be used for “general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of bitcoin.”

This would again mimic MicroStrategy, which has issued billions of dollars of convertible notes with the sole purpose of acquiring more BTC.

“Bitcoin is a compelling investment and can serve as a reliable store of value,” added the company’s CEO. “We will continue to pursue our strategy of purchasing bitcoins with cash.”

Following its first purchase, company chairman Eric Semler said Bitcoin “has the potential to generate outsize returns as it gains increasing acceptance as digital gold.”

Compared to gold, Semler said Bitcoin has “digital” and architectural resilience” that make it “preferable to gold,” the latter of which has a market cap still ten times Bitcoin’s size.

Before Semler, public Japanese firm Metaplanet revealed its new goal to acquire as much BTC as possible, and became one of the nation’s best-performing stocks as a result.

In addition to buying BTC with cash, the firm has agreed to explore the use of capital markets in ways it views as accretive to shareholder value and Bitcoin holdings.