How Semler Scientific (SMLR) Escaped the Zombie Zone with a Bitcoin Treasury Strategy
In a recent interview with Bitcoin Magazine, Eric Semler, Chairman of Semler Scientific, shared how the company transformed its trajectory through a Bitcoin treasury strategy.
Semler Scientific (SMLR) is not your typical Bitcoin treasury company. With a strong cash position but years of underwhelming stock performance, the company turned to Bitcoin—not as a gamble, but as a strategic catalyst. What followed was a radical shift in valuation, shareholder engagement, and long-term positioning.
“We were the second U.S. public company to adopt Bitcoin as a primary treasury reserve strategy. Michael Saylor obviously is the quintessential pioneer, but we’re in that group.”
ACTIVISM MEETS BITCOIN CONVICTION
Semler joined Semler Scientific’s board just two years ago. “I became an activist on the Semler board. I wasn’t actually involved in the company until two years ago,” he said. What he found was a business generating cash but not being rewarded for it—“a zombie company,” as he put it.
“We had all this cash. It looked eerily similar to MicroStrategy in August of 2020. We had a very similar profile. A lot of cash. A lot of our market cap was in cash. We weren’t really growing.”
Rather than pursue an acquisition, Semler helped steer the company toward Bitcoin. “We needed to figure out a way to jump start our growth and we settled on Bitcoin, which was a great decision.”
A TRANSFORMATIONAL MOVE
Since announcing its Bitcoin treasury strategy, Semler Scientific has experienced a significant shift—not just in valuation, but in momentum and perception.
“Our stock at one point had quadrupled. Now it’s basically doubled… it was doing nothing for years, and it was actually going down for years,” said Semler. For a company long seen as stagnant despite consistent profitability, the Bitcoin move catalyzed a market reappraisal and brought renewed visibility to a previously overlooked business.
The internal response has been equally powerful. “Everybody’s fully on board,” Semler said. “It’s just been great to get this kind of electricity into our stock, into our company.”
What began as an activist-led effort to escape a “zombie” stock profile has become a strategic unlock. For companies with strong fundamentals but no growth narrative, Bitcoin offers more than asset appreciation—it offers signaling power, capital preservation, and a way to re-engage the market on new terms.
FROM UNDER THE RADAR TO THE SPOTLIGHT
For a company that had spent years overlooked by the market, Semler Scientific’s pivot to a Bitcoin treasury strategy didn’t just shift financial fundamentals—it dramatically raised the company’s profile.
“I had strong conviction in Bitcoin, but I had no idea what I was getting into… The entire social media aspect of it was really jolting for me,” said Semler.
A former journalist and seasoned investor, Semler is used to working behind the scenes—asking the questions, not answering them. “I’m more of an introvert. I’m not into kind of exposing myself by social media,” he admitted.
But Bitcoin has a way of changing a company’s relationship with visibility. Semler Scientific has attracted a new, vocal shareholder base, and Semler himself has become a reference point for other executives weighing the Bitcoin path. It’s not always comfortable, but it’s effective.
“At the end of the day, really what matters is that we own a lot of Bitcoin and that Bitcoin appreciates… what matters most is… that we create shareholder value.”
For Semler Scientific, Bitcoin hasn’t just altered the balance sheet—it’s pulled the company into the spotlight and into the conversation.
WHY INSTITUTIONS ARE TAKING NOTICE
While retail investors can access Bitcoin through spot ETFs or self-custody, many large institutional funds remain restricted by mandates that prohibit direct exposure. That dynamic creates a unique opening for publicly traded operating companies with Bitcoin on their balance sheet.
“Most investment funds can’t buy ETFs,” Semler explained. “For a large number of the huge funds in this country, we’re really their only way to get exposure to Bitcoin in the stock market.”
This limitation—little known outside institutional circles—has turned companies like Semler Scientific into proxy vehicles for Bitcoin exposure. And for fund managers who believe in the long-term thesis but can’t touch the underlying asset, firms like SMLR offer a rare bridge.
As more institutions seek asymmetric upside and diversified alternatives to fiat-debasing capital environments, Semler Scientific (SMLR) is increasingly part of that capital conversation—not because of what it sells, but because of what it holds.
NAVIGATING VOLATILITY
When asked what advice he would give to other companies considering Bitcoin, Semler didn’t sugarcoat it. “Just be ready for volatility. If you’re comfortable with that, know that that’s gonna be part of this experience.”
He recalled the company’s first major purchase. “We took almost all of our cash and bought Bitcoin in May. As soon as we finished buying, their news came out that Mt. Gox was doing a distribution. And I think Bitcoin just plummeted, like, 25% in a short period of time… it was a hit to the stomach, a stomach punch.”
But instead of pulling back, they pushed forward—raising more capital and buying more Bitcoin through both ATM equity and convertible notes. “We did a $100 million dollar convertible loan.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Semler believes the long-term upside goes beyond “hodling.” As infrastructure matures and institutions like JPMorgan step deeper into the space, he sees potential to leverage Bitcoin for yield and financing.
“I could see us being a kind of a Bitcoin financial company.”
For now, the focus is clear: accumulate Bitcoin, manage volatility, and unlock value where others see risk. “We’re early in accumulating Bitcoin, and we’re gonna continue to do that.”
Disclaimer: This content was written on behalf of Bitcoin For Corporations. This article is intended solely for informational purposes and should not be interpreted as an invitation or solicitation to acquire, purchase, or subscribe for securities.
This post How Semler Scientific (SMLR) Escaped the Zombie Zone with a Bitcoin Treasury Strategy first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Nick Ward.