Semler Scientific, the previously obscure medical device maker, has unveiled plans to acquire a staggering 105,000 BTC by the end of 2027. Its ambition would make Semler the second-largest corporate Bitcoin holder in the world, behind only Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy).

The announcement, made on June 20, sent Semler’s shares soaring nearly 12% in pre-market trading, amid investor enthusiasm for the company’s aggressive Bitcoin treasury strategy. At current prices, the 105,000 BTC goal represents over $11 billion, an eye-popping figure for a company that posted less than $60 million in revenue last year.

From medical devices to macro bets

Semler Scientific built its business around diagnostic tools like ankle-brachial index testing for peripheral artery disease. But since May 2024, when the company adopted Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset, its profile has shifted dramatically.

The firm’s first purchase for $40 million marked the start of a financial transformation. By April, Semler held 3,467 BTC acquired at an average cost of $88,263. It has since added another 982 BTC, bringing its total to 4,449 BTC, worth approximately $471 million.

The roadmap forward is even more ambitious. Semler targets 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025, 42,000 by the end of 2026, and the full 105,000 by December 2027. Achieving that would require it to acquire over 100,000 BTC in under three years, a rate of accumulation unmatched by any other public company save MicroStrategy.

Building a Bitcoin powerhouse

To execute this plan, Semler is drawing from the Strategy playbook. The company is funding its purchases through a mix of at-the-market (ATM) share sales, senior convertible notes, and operating cash flow. It raised $88.5 million via convertible debt in early 2025 and continues to tap capital markets to finance additional buys.

On June 19, Semler hired Bitcoin analyst Joe Burnett as Director of Bitcoin Strategy, a role that did not exist prior to the company’s pivot. Burnett brings a vocal Bitcoin-maximalist stance and stated the goal bluntly: “It’s time to build one of the most valuable companies in the world.”

Eric Semler, the company’s chairman and namesake, added, “We are excited to have Joe join our Bitcoin strategy team and help drive our three-year plan to own 105,000 Bitcoins.”

Beyond Hype: Questions of Scale and Risk

While Semler’s BTC bet has captured headlines, it also invites scrutiny. The scale of accumulation, equal to roughly 0.5% of Bitcoin’s maximum supply, raises liquidity crunch questions about market depth and execution.

There are internal risks too. Critics warn that focusing too heavily on Bitcoin could distract from Semler’s core med-tech operations, where R&D and regulatory compliance remain capital-intensive. Furthermore, with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) now requiring fair-value accounting for digital assets, the company’s earnings could swing wildly with BTC price volatility.

Regulatory optics add another layer of complexity. As a healthcare player serving Medicare and FDA-regulated markets, Semler’s pivot to a digital asset-heavy strategy is unprecedented and could have drawn new scrutiny under previous regulatory regimes. However, given the current regulatory climate in the US, it would be surprising to see any US company discouraged from buying Bitcoin.

Strategy comparisons and a new corporate trend

Inevitably, observers have dubbed Semler “MicroStrategy junior.” Michael Saylor’s firm holds roughly 592,100 BTC and uses a similar combination of equity issuance and debt to build its war chest. But unlike Strategy, which remains a profitable software business, Semler is wagering a relatively modest operating base against a colossal financial position.

That dichotomy could still work in Semler’s favor. If BTC appreciates and investor sentiment remains strong, Semler may ride a valuation wave that, like Strategy, decouples from its underlying product sales.

The move also reinforces the broader narrative of Bitcoin’s growing role in corporate finance. While tech firms like Block and Tesla have dabbled in BTC holdings, Semler’s full-throttle commitment makes it a bellwether for a new wave of balance-sheet bulls, even outside the tech sector.

Semler’s pivot may yet prove visionary, or perilous. Its Bitcoin holdings already dwarf its core business in value, and the company is now on a path where digital asset management may define its future more than medical diagnostics.

With its $10 billion BTC target, Semler is betting on Bitcoin, while also betting it can remake its identity entirely akin to Strategy.

Whether investors buy into that story long-term remains the open question. But for now, Semler is aligning itself even closer to Strategy’s Bitcoin play, hoping it’s still early enough to the party to see long-term outsized gains.

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Bhutan’s government is pushing hard to open its doors to investors and new industries. It wants more than just its famous Gross National Happiness score. It plans to use its clean energy and special economic zones to bring jobs home. But many challenges lie ahead.

Bhutan Faces Brain Drain

According to recent figures, about 13,500 Bhutanese—1.6% of the country’s less than 800,000 people—moved to Australia in 2023. That kind of outflow shows young talent is chasing bigger markets. It leaves Bhutan short on skilled workers at a time when it needs fresh ideas and start‐up energy. Geography doesn’t help. Being landlocked between India and China means transporting goods and building infrastructure costs more and takes longer.

Hydropower Drives New Plans

Bhutan’s main export is electricity from rivers. It has 2.5 gigawatts of hydropower now and another 3 GW under construction. Cheap and clean, this power could fuel factories, server farms or green-tech trials. Based on reports from Druk Holdings and Investments (DHI), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, these sites could let firms test pump-storage systems or hydrogen production in real conditions. Quick pilots in Bhutan might then be rolled out regionally.

Bitcoin Mining Growth

Based on a report by Fortune, Bitcoin mining is one of the more unusual bets. Bhutan started mining crypto in 2019 when a Bitcoin cost just under $10,000. As of May 7, 2025, each coin is worth about $97,400. According to DHI, relying on hydropower makes this mining low-carbon, and profits boost the fund’s $3 billion portfolio. But crypto prices swing hard. One big drop could wipe out gains. Still, DHI calls Bitcoin “digital gold” and says it’s part of a mixed approach.

Image: Canva

Gelephu Mindfulness City

Based on planning documents, Gelephu Mindfulness City will cover about 2,500 square kilometers near the Indian border. This special zone aims to link Bhutan with South and Southeast Asia, offering space for health clinics, tech startups and green-energy firms. It’s billed as a place where work and well-being meet. Roads, digital lines and homes all need to be built from scratch. That will take cash and many years before hotels or offices fill up.

Bhutan’s GNH index rose from 0.743 in 2010 to 0.781 in 2022. Over the same span, GDP per person grew from $2,435 to $3,711, though it dipped sharply in 2020 during the pandemic. Tourism is still recovering: 145,000 visitors came last year, down from 315,599 in 2019 under the “high-value, low-impact” model that caps arrivals to protect mountain roads and forests.

DHI looks to Singapore’s Temasek as a governance example. Temasek manages about $300 billion and owns stakes in big names like Singapore Airlines. By contrast, DHI holds shares in 24 Bhutanese firms, including Bhutan Telecom and Bank of Bhutan. Executives say size is not the key. What matters is moving fast, staying lean and turning green energy into growth.

Bhutan’s plan is bold. It blends traditional values with a shot at tech and finance. If young people see real jobs at home, some may stay. If pilot projects succeed, small-scale could grow big. But any misstep in hydropower, crypto or city building risks stretching Bhutan’s limited resources. For now, investors and citizens alike will be watching closely.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.

According to the company’s announcement on May 7, “Mistral Medium 3 delivers frontier performance while being an order of magnitude less expensive”.

Medium 3 joins the company’s lineup of previous releases, including open-source models like Mistral 7B, Mixtral, Codestral, and Pixtral. However, unlike those earlier models, Medium 3 is not open-source, and users cannot modify or run it on their own devices.

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Medium 3 costs $0.40 per million input tokens and $2 per million output tokens. Reviews by Artificial Analysis rated it as one of the best non-reasoning models available. It competes closely with options like Llama 4 Maverick, Gemini 2.0 Flash, and Claude 3.7 Sonnet.

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Meanwhile, on April 28, OpenAI introduced new features to its AI chatbot, ChatGPT. What are they? Read the full story.