Bitcoin treasury strategy for Canadian companies — built to survive your auditors.

Volatility is real, but it needs to be weighed against the alternative it's measured against: the slow, certain erosion of purchasing power on long-term reserves left in cash-equivalents. Volatility is the price of an asymmetric, scarce asset — and over a multi-year horizon it has historically compressed.

Most treasury implementations start with 1–5% of excess reserves, which limits downside exposure while providing meaningful upside participation. The question isn't whether bitcoin is volatile — it is. The question is whether a measured allocation makes sense for the store-of-value portion of your reserves.

Bitcoin doesn't fit neatly into either Canadian framework, so the treatment is built by analogy. Under IFRS (public companies), it's an intangible asset under IAS 38 — carried at cost with impairment testing, or at revalued amount through OCI if the revaluation model is elected. Under ASPE (most private companies), it's also an intangible, but at cost less impairment only, with no revaluation option — so gains surface on disposal rather than each reporting period.

The right treatment depends on the standard you report under, your business model, and your intended holding period. We work with your auditors to document a defensible, audit-ready position from the outset.

U.S. companies report under U.S. GAAP, where ASU 2023-08 now carries bitcoin at fair value with gains and losses running through net income every period. Canadian companies report under IFRS (public) or ASPE (most private), where bitcoin is an intangible — gains aren't marked through earnings each period. They're recognised on disposal under the cost model, or routed to equity through OCI under the IFRS revaluation model, rather than lifting reported profit the way U.S. GAAP now requires. The measurement, disclosure, and tax implications are materially different, so a U.S. template doesn't map cleanly onto a Canadian balance sheet. We build the treatment to the standard you actually report under, plus CRA guidance, and document it with your auditors.

CRA treats cryptocurrency as a commodity. Gains and losses are generally business income (fully taxable) or capital gains (50% inclusion rate), depending on the nature and frequency of transactions and the company's intent.

A company holding bitcoin as a long-term treasury reserve is more likely to be characterised as capital — but this is fact-specific and must be documented carefully at the outset. Purchasing bitcoin is not a taxable event; tax is triggered on disposition.

An ETF gives you price exposure, but you don't own bitcoin — you own units of a fund that holds it, with ongoing management fees and a custodian you don't control. For a treasury reserve asset, that distinction matters.

We help companies hold real bitcoin in institutional custody — segregated, multi-signature, and held in your company's name. You own the asset directly, with no management fees eroding the position and no fund structure between you and your reserves. We handle custodian selection, controls, and the accounting so it's audit-ready from day one.

New Macro provides education, treasury strategy frameworks, and implementation support — not personalised investment advice in the securities law sense. We do not manage client funds or execute transactions on your behalf. Our work is analogous to a treasury management consultant or CFO advisory firm, working alongside your existing legal, tax, and audit advisors.