Sequans Communications has sold its final 314 BTC, ending the Bitcoin treasury strategy the French semiconductor company launched in 2025. The company said Thursday that the sale came after it redeemed its convertible debt in May 2026, and that it will now refocus on its core businesses in cellular Internet of Things, or IoT, and software-defined radio.
Chief executive Georges Karam said Sequans used Bitcoin sales to eliminate its convertible debt and strengthen its balance sheet. According to the company, it now holds no cryptocurrency and has no outstanding debt, apart from government-backed research and development obligations.
From Bitcoin treasury buildout to full exit
Sequans began its Bitcoin treasury strategy in June 2025. At the time, it filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, saying it had raised $384 million to launch the allocation strategy. Karam said then that Bitcoin was a "primary asset and a compelling long-term investment." The report also noted that Bitcoin reached this cycle’s all-time high of $126,000 in October 2025.
The shift came less than half a year later. In November 2025, Sequans sold 970 BTC to redeem half of its convertible debt. By May 2026, the company said in an official statement that it would "no longer pursue" the Bitcoin treasury strategy and that its remaining Bitcoin would be monetized over time. With the final 314 BTC now sold, the French chipmaker has reduced its holdings from a peak of more than 3,200 BTC to zero.
The report said Sequans shares had been falling since hitting a peak in July 2025.
More companies have pulled back from Bitcoin treasury strategies
Sequans is not alone in stepping back. Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, said in a late-July review that at least nine companies in 2026 had fully liquidated or abandoned their Bitcoin treasury strategies, while several others had reduced their holdings. In a list posted on X, he included both crypto-native firms and traditional public companies, pointing to a rapid retreat in this model under bear-market pressure.
One of the more extreme examples in the report was U.K.-listed Satsuma Technology. In July 2025, Satsuma raised £100 million through convertible loan notes to expand its Bitcoin treasury, setting a U.K. fundraising record for that strategy. A year later, shareholders overwhelmingly approved a resolution to return almost all capital and delist the company, after which the board authorized the sale of all 669 BTC.
The report said companies that fully liquidated their Bitcoin holdings in 2026 also included Bitdeer, Genius Group and Prenetics. MARA Holdings and Empery Digital carried out large sales as well, though neither had fully abandoned its treasury strategy.
The reasons for these exits varied: debt repayment, working capital needs, shareholder returns and changes in strategic direction. In Sequans’ case, the path was straightforward. It sold Bitcoin to repay debt and then returned to its core business.
Debt-funded BTC buying came under pressure
The article said Sequans’ full exit highlights a structural tension in the Bitcoin treasury model: companies raise debt to buy BTC, then end up selling BTC to service or retire that debt. In a falling market, that loop can turn against them quickly.
According to the report, Sequans issued convertible debt in June 2025 when BTC was still trading at relatively high levels. The market later entered a downturn, and the company was forced to sell Bitcoin at lower prices to meet its debt obligations, effectively locking in a buy-high, sell-low outcome.
The report contrasted Sequans with Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy. Strategy relies mainly on operating cash flow and equity financing, and its cost basis is spread across a broader holding structure. By contrast, companies using a debt-funded BTC model face fixed maturities and stronger forced-sale pressure. Once BTC falls below financing costs, the treasury can shift from an asset into a liability.
Sigel also said many of the companies that exited in 2026 had entered near market highs in 2024 and 2025, and that their debt structures left little room to absorb a downturn. The report added that Sequans’ decision to liquidate its holdings and return to its main business may have been the more pragmatic option, though its stock has fallen more than 90% from the peak reached when the Bitcoin treasury strategy was launched.