Bitcoin treasury companies are putting serious attention on digital credit, a category of bitcoin-backed debt instruments that executives at Consensus Miami described as a potential $3 trillion market. The pitch is simple: use bitcoin on corporate balance sheets to support yield-bearing products rather than leaving the asset idle.
During a panel on the evolution of bitcoin treasury firms, Strive chairman and CEO Matt Cole said adoption has moved at an unusually fast pace. He said the market has already reached about $10 billion in less than one year, and argued that, outside of bitcoin ETFs, it ranks as the second-fastest product launch in capital markets history after Strive entered the space.
Credit products built on bitcoin holdings
Digital credit refers to income-generating securities backed by bitcoin. The structure is meant to let investors earn yield while reducing direct exposure to bitcoin price swings. Unlike traditional credit instruments that are supported by business revenue or cash flow, these products rely on bitcoin held on the issuer’s balance sheet.
Panelists described the instruments as typically taking the form of perpetual preferred stock, which pays regular income without a fixed maturity date. Strategy, the largest publicly listed corporate holder of bitcoin, opened the category last year. Strive followed as the second public issuer with its SATA product.
Why executives think the addressable market is much larger
Cole tied the long-term thesis to the size of the broader credit system. He said the global credit market is worth around $300 trillion. If bitcoin-backed credit products capture just 1% of that pool, the implied demand would be $3 trillion. He said he does not view that outcome as unrealistic.
Other treasury-focused firms on the panel signaled similar interest. Katherine Dowling, president of Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company, said her firm is also looking at digital credit and considers it highly important. She said the company is preparing to bring roughly 30,000 BTC onto its balance sheet and is evaluating a range of product structures for different investor needs.
Firms are exploring different access routes
Dowling added that her company’s CIO has a structured finance background, which it will use to assess these instruments. Her comments suggested the discussion has moved beyond theory and into product design, investor fit and market capacity.
Amanda Fabiano, COO of Nakamoto, said her firm identified the structured credit trend early and built a fund around it, giving institutional investors access through a format that can work for buyers unable to purchase the instruments directly. She also said Nakamoto has not launched its own preferred stock product and is still weighing whether that makes sense given its structure as an operating company with a treasury beneath it.