As the cryptocurrency market increasingly attracts businesses and institutional investors, experts expect a new trend to gain momentum: Public Crypto Vehicles (PCVs). These public companies use capital from financial markets to purchase and hold cryptocurrencies—a strategy pioneered by MicroStrategy in 2020.
However, experts warn that this trend carries significant opportunities and considerable risks, especially for retail investors.
Corporate Crypto Reserves Expand Beyond Bitcoin to Ethereum, Solana, and More
Under CEO Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy launched the PCV trend when it began accumulating large amounts of Bitcoin in 2020. Currently, the company holds over $63 billion worth of Bitcoin. It has become an unofficial Bitcoin ETF, exposing investors to crypto through publicly traded shares.
MicroStrategy’s success has inspired other companies to follow suit. These new PCVs are no longer limited to Bitcoin. They have expanded into other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL).
For example, in April 2025, Janover Inc. (Nasdaq: JNVR)—a Florida-based fintech firm specializing in commercial real estate lending—boldly purchased 44,158 Solana (SOL), bringing its total Solana holdings to 83,084. Similarly, Upexi, a company focused on developing, producing, and distributing consumer goods, with no previous crypto background, announced it had raised and invested nearly $100 million in Solana.
In another case, SharpLink Gaming recently raised nearly half a billion dollars to build a strategic reserve of Ethereum (ETH).
Yano, co-founder of Blockworks, predicts that in the coming weeks or months, PCVs will be formed around assets in the top 50 of the crypto rankings.
“Now in the past few weeks we’re seeing PCVs for ETH and SOL. What’s going to happen is that in the next few weeks and months we’ll see PCVs for assets in the top 50,” Yano said.
This trend reflects a strong rise in institutional interest in cryptocurrencies, especially after spot Bitcoin ETFs received approval in the US in 2024.
What Are the Opportunities and Risks of Public Crypto Vehicles (PCVs)?
PCVs offer major opportunities for investors, particularly early adopters. According to Yano, those who invest early in current PCVs are almost guaranteed to profit due to the current market enthusiasm.
However, he also warns that lower-ranked assets, which often lack Bitcoin’s strong fundamentals, are more likely to fail.
As the trend becomes more mainstream, it could turn “stupid.” PCVs might be forced to compete by using financial leverage. Leverage can boost short-term profits but also increases the risk of large losses when the market becomes volatile.
“But obviously asset #47 isn’t the same as BTC. For so many reasons, most of these (all?) won’t end well. And even with BTC and ETH and SOL… those will get stupid too. They’ll have to differentiate. And the only way to really differentiate will be with leverage. This starts great. And investors seeding these will make good money (it’s nearly impossible to lose money on these deals right now),” Yano added.
Johnny_TVL, Head of DeFi at Base, also voiced concern over the dangers of leverage in PCVs. Investor James Camp believes this could even trigger a new bear market cycle.
However, some believe that for PCVs to be sustainable, public companies could partner with crypto funds. These partnerships could allow them to buy tokens at a discount, run validators, engage in staking, and invest in ecosystem projects.
