Britain’s biggest corporate Bitcoin bet is under heavy pressure, but its chief executive says the plan is unchanged.
Key Takeaways
Smarter Web Company is still buying Bitcoin despite a near $100 million unrealized loss.
Shares have collapsed, but management plans to raise capital via a London Stock Exchange move to keep accumulating.
Andrew Webley, who leads Smarter Web Company, signaled that the firm will keep buying Bitcoin even after a sharp drawdown erased close to $100 million from the value of its holdings over the past three months. Speaking to reporters, Webley played down the recent sell-off, arguing that short-term price swings do not alter the company’s long-term strategy.
The numbers, however, are unforgiving. Smarter Web Company currently holds 2,674 BTC, accumulated at an average cost of roughly $111,000 per coin. With Bitcoin trading near the mid-$70,000 range, the position is sitting on an unrealized loss of about one-third of its original value.
The decline followed broader market turbulence, intensified by shifting expectations around US monetary policy after the nomination of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair.
Shareholders have felt the impact even more sharply. After branding itself as a UK-listed proxy for Bitcoin exposure, the company’s valuation once surged past the £1 billion mark on the Aquis exchange. Since then, the stock has fallen around 95%, significantly cutting the value of Webley’s personal stake.
Despite that setback, management is leaning into expansion rather than retreat. The company is preparing to move its listing to the main market of the London Stock Exchange, a step Webley believes will open the door to larger pools of institutional capital. Any fresh funding, he suggests, would be directed toward further Bitcoin purchases, with the aim of lowering the firm’s average entry price.
Webley also pointed to progress already made during the downturn. Since the market peak last summer, Smarter Web Company has doubled its Bitcoin holdings and increased the amount of BTC owned per share by about 50%. For the CEO, the message is clear: volatility may punish the balance sheet in the short run, but conviction, not price, continues to drive the strategy.
