Acurx Pharmaceuticals to establish a bitcoin treasury reserve worth $1 million, following MicroStrategy's lead.

The board approved the purchase of up to $1 million in treasury reserve assets on Wednesday.

The company's shares were last down more than 6% after rising about 8% in premarket trading.

According to CEO David P. Luci, as demand for bitcoin increases and it becomes more widely accepted as a major and primary asset class, we anticipate that bitcoin will be a strong treasury reserve asset for cash not needed over the next 12 to 18 months.

"Its limited supply and inflation-resistant characteristics make it a functional store of value," he stated. "This new treasury strategy is a finance strategy and does not affect our overarching drug development plans."

In 2020, MicroStrategy adopted bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset, acquiring 21,454 bitcoins at roughly $11,653 each. Since then, the enterprise software company has aggressively bought more bitcoin, bringing its total to 331,200 bitcoins. Its stock is up more than 500% for 2024.

The adoption of Bitcoin by corporate treasurys is a significant yet gradual catalyst for the crypto market. Despite its all-time highs, Bitcoin is predicted to double in value by the end of 2025 due to President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to create a more crypto-friendly business environment.

As the regulatory overhang is predicted to be lifted next year, investors are closely monitoring for the next major company to start investing in bitcoin. In 2021, Tesla and Block followed MicroStrategy's lead. This year, Semler Scientific joined the trend.

Michael Saylor, the Bitcoin evangelist and MicroStrategy Chairman, announced that he intends to present his Bitcoin treasury strategy to Microsoft's board of directors in December.

This year, the theme has expanded to the government level, with Sen. Cynthia Lummis suggesting a national strategic bitcoin reserve in the summer, and President-elect Trump mentioning a potential national bitcoin stockpile in the same week.

The price of bitcoin is up 122% this year.