French Chipmaker Sequans Sells Last 314 Bitcoins to Exit Treasury Strategy
Sequans Communications announced the sale of the remaining 314 bitcoins on its balance sheet as of June 30, completely ending its treasury strategy. At its peak, the company held over 3,200 bitcoins. CEO Georges Karam stated that this move completes the balance sheet restructuring following the repayment of convertible bonds, and the company no longer holds any crypto assets, with no outstanding debts except for government-funded R&D-related liabilities, refocusing on its core business of cellular IoT and software-defined radio.
The strategy was initiated in June 2025, when approximately $384 million in equity and convertible secured bonds were allocated, with Karam describing bitcoin as a high-quality long-term asset. Less than six months later, in November 2025, 970 bitcoins were sold to redeem half of the convertible bonds; in May 2026, the company announced it would no longer pursue the treasury strategy and would liquidate remaining coins opportunistically. This round of sales marks the conclusion of the roadmap set in May. The stock is listed in New York under the ticker SQNS.
The transition from "long-term allocation" to "opportunistic liquidation" took about fifteen months. The convertible bonds transformed bitcoin from a reserve into a debt repayment tool: when the coin price or financing window could not support leverage, the treasury first served the balance sheet, then the semiconductor story. After liquidation, the capital structure became simpler, with investors seeing cash and chip orders instead of bitcoin per share.
In the same week, Strive stated to Bloomberg that there was no excessively high bitcoin price before the debt crisis. Sequans represents a reverse sample: using the same asset to repair leverage, and leaving once the repairs are complete. The sell-off itself has limited supply across the network, signaling that treasury strategies can have a time limit and are not solely about unilateral accumulation.
From a market mechanism perspective, what is sold is excess coins, while what is bought is a cleaner semiconductor valuation. Demand comes from spot and over-the-counter buyers, while supply is the last batch from the company's treasury. Beneficiaries are equity analysts who eliminate the discount from crypto volatility, while those under pressure are funds that narrate "another listed company hoarding coins." Funds are moving from bitcoin spot back to cash accounts, then into working capital for IoT chips.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Sequans demonstrates that a treasury can be a financing bridge, not a permanent constitution. The $384 million influx was for buying coins, and the coins sold were to convert that money into debt through the convertible bonds. The core business is IoT modems, and bitcoin has never entered the product BOM. Karam frames the exit as a discipline, and the market can also frame it as: leveraged treasuries will first serve creditors in a bear market.
The capital path is equity plus convertible bonds to buy coins, then selling coins to repay debt. From a peak of 3,200 coins to a final count of 314, the sale of 970 coins in between indicates that the reduction was not an impulsive move. After clearing, there is less crypto beta and less treasury premium, with valuation returning to the common metrics of orders and gross margins used by chip companies. Strive and Strategy pursue a model of never repaying debt, only increasing per-share coins; Sequans follows a model of clearing debt and coins.
Similar to Tesla's temporary view of bitcoin as a reserve before reducing holdings, and several Japanese trading companies' commodity inventory cycles. The industry is experiencing a differentiation among treasury companies: those that can perpetually issue in premium windows remain, while those that rely on convertible bonds to buy in one go gradually exit.
Structural judgments reflect the concentration of capital. Leveraged coin hoarding is transitioning from a diffusion phase to an exit phase. The mechanism is: when financing costs exceed the appreciation of coin prices, the treasury shifts from an asset to a liability management tool; once the tool is used up, the core company chooses to return the balance sheet to its main business.
ABAB News · Cognitive Laws
A treasury can be a bridge, not a constitution
When convertible bonds mature, coins are first returned to debt
After clearing, there is less crypto premium and less crypto discount