Bitcoin per share metrics help investors evaluate companies that hold bitcoin as a treasury asset. However, three different calculation methods exist, and each provides different insights into a company's capital structure and the value attributable to common shareholders.
Raw Bitcoin Per Share
The simplest metric is raw Bitcoin Per Share (BPS), calculated by dividing total bitcoin holdings by common shares outstanding. This straightforward measure shows how much bitcoin is attributable to each currently outstanding share.
The limitation of raw BPS is that it ignores potential dilution from warrants, convertible debt, or convertible preferred stock that could eventually become common shares. This provides an incomplete picture of the potential future share count.
Bitcoin Per Assumed Diluted Share
Bitcoin Per Assumed Diluted Share (BPADS) addresses dilution by incorporating shares that would exist if all potentially dilutive securities converted into common stock. Because the assumed diluted share count is greater than or equal to the existing share count, BPADS is always less than or equal to raw BPS.
This metric became widely cited beginning in 2024 as bitcoin treasury companies adopted increasingly complex capital structures. BPADS provides a more conservative view of bitcoin ownership, though its assumption of full conversion can be overly conservative. Warrants and convertible debt may never convert if stock prices remain below conversion thresholds, and perpetual convertible preferred stock may remain outstanding indefinitely if investors prefer the preferred dividend.
Net Bitcoin Per Share
Both raw BPS and BPADS ignore senior claims on company assets, such as debt and preferred equity, which have priority over common shares. Net Bitcoin Per Share (Net BPS) addresses this by deducting the bitcoin equivalent of senior claims from total holdings before dividing by common shares.
When calculating Net BPS, companies can choose to apply cash and cash equivalents against senior claims first, preserving more bitcoin for common shareholders, or deduct the full value of senior claims while reporting cash separately. Both approaches are useful depending on whether the goal is a comprehensive measure of residual asset value or a clearer view of bitcoin and cash positions independently.
Price Sensitivity and Measuring Accretion
A key characteristic of Net BPS is its sensitivity to bitcoin's price. Since senior claims are typically denominated in dollars, as bitcoin appreciates, fewer bitcoins are required to cover fixed obligations, leaving more bitcoin for common shareholders. When bitcoin depreciates, the reverse occurs.
This creates a challenge for measuring accretion: changes in Net BPS over time combine the effects of corporate actions with changes in bitcoin's market price. A rising bitcoin price can increase Net BPS even when financing decisions destroy shareholder value. The proper way to measure economic accretion is to compare Net BPS before and after a transaction while holding the bitcoin price constant, which isolates the effects of changes in holdings, claims, cash, and share count.
Connection to Shareholder Value
Net BPS provides a direct connection to the liquidation value attributable to each common share. Multiplying Net BPS by the bitcoin price converts this to a dollar figure that investors can compare with the common stock's market price to measure the premium or discount at which shares trade relative to their estimated residual asset value.
For evaluating a company's capital stack, Net BPS is the most comprehensive of the three metrics. It accounts for all elements affecting common shareholders and provides the most relevant basis for comparison with market price.
