Biopharma exec says Bitcoin could help industry through ‘biotech winter’

NASDAQ-listed biopharmaceutical firm Atai Life Sciences says cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin could be key to survival for biotech startups as they wade through years of regulatory approvals. 

Atai, which is developing mental health treatments using psychedelics like DMT and MDMA, has become the latest public company to announce plans to buy Bitcoin.

It plans to buy $5 million of Bitcoin (BTC), its founder and chair Christian Angermayer wrote in a March 20 Substack post.

“Drug development is a cash-hungry, long-term venture,” he said. “The necessary steps to achieve regulatory approval can easily take more than a decade.”

TechCrunch reported in January that, according to multiple data sets, the number of startups shutting down rose in 2024 compared to 2023 as firms failed to receive more funding to keep running.

Angermayer said the approval process is essential for drug development, but it exposes firms to financial risks while sticky inflation and high interest rates have caused the current “biotech winter.”

He added that the current industry approach is to put cash reserves in near-zero-yield accounts, as “preserving capital was more important than earning a return on their cash balance.”

“This context sets the stage for considering unconventional treasury moves — like adding Bitcoin to the treasury — to address the twin threats of inflation and low-yielding reserves, and in general to optimize and maximize shareholder value.”

Atai will join at least five other public medical companies that have bought Bitcoin in recent months with the aim of boosting shareholder returns.

Biotech firm Quantum BioPharma said on March 20 that it had now spent $3.5 million in total to buy BTC and other cryptocurrencies after an initial $1 million investment in December. 

Medical device maker Semler Scientific said last month that since it started in May, it had spent a total of $280.4 million buying 3,192 BTC.

Hoth Therapeutics, Acurx Pharmaceuticals and Enlivex Therapeutics said in separate statements on Nov. 20 that each of them would buy $1 million in Bitcoin.

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Atai’s Angermayer said his firm’s Bitcoin buy would primarily be as a long-term inflation hedge but also a short-term diversification play. He added that Bitcoin is likely to have short-term price fluctuations, so the Berlin-based firm is holding mostly US dollars, short-term securities, and stocks for its desired run rate into 2027.

Atai’s $5 million put would mean it is able to buy just over 59 BTC at its current price of around $84,300 and make it the world’s 52nd largest holder among public firms, according to Bitbo data.

Bitcoin has struggled to keep afloat amid a wider market rout due to US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and fears of a US recession, which Trump hasn’t ruled out.

Atai’s share price rose early in March 20 trading to a peak of $1.47 but tapered off to close the day down 1.44% at $1.37, according to Google Finance. Its stock has sunk nearly 93% from its mid-2021 public debut peak but is up 3% so far this year.

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