Semler Scientific Acquires 303 Bitcoins for $29.3 Million
Semler Scientific Inc. (NASDAQ: SMLR), a California-based provider of software solutions for healthcare providers, acquired 303 Bitcoins for approximately $29.3 million between November 25 and December 4, 2024, at an average price of $96,779.
Currently, Semler Scientific holds a total of 1,873 Bitcoins, purchased for about $147.1 million at an average price of $78,553. The company has also offered an additional $50 million worth of shares under its existing ATM offering with Cantor Fitzgerald, raising the total to $100 million.
To date, Semler Scientific has raised $79.8 million from share sales under this ATM offering. Prior to the recent Bitcoin acquisition, the company's BTC yield was approximately 54.7 percent. Following the acquisition, the yield increased to 78.7 percent. Eric Semler, chairman of Semler Scientific, mentioned that they have requested approval for options trading in their stock, believing they meet eligibility requirements.
The ongoing Bitcoin acquisitions have significantly contributed to the growth of SMLR stock, which surged over 149 percent in the past three months, trading at about $59 on December 5. Semler Scientific's strategy mirrors that of MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR), which has acquired over 402,000 Bitcoins to date.
Impact on the Bitcoin Ecosystem
The institutional adoption of Bitcoin has fueled a bullish outlook, with Open Interest (OI) surpassing $66 billion for the first time, coinciding with a rally in BTC prices beyond $100,000. Over the past few days, more than $114 billion has entered the crypto market, bolstering confidence in the Web3 sector.
BlackRock’s IBIT has been acquiring over $50 million in Bitcoins daily, increasing U.S. spot BTC ETF holdings to over 1 million units. The Bitcoin industry is projected to grow as nation-states consider strategic BTC reserves to address rising debts. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has referred to Bitcoin as digital gold.
As Bitcoin whales continue to accumulate coins, the overall supply on centralized exchanges has decreased by over 135,000 in the last 30 days, totaling about 2.26 million at the time of this report.