In July 2025, Sequans Communications said it intended to hold 100,000 bitcoin by 2030. On Thursday it announced that it holds none.
The French chipmaker completed its exit by selling the 314 bitcoin left on its balance sheet at the end of June, the last step in a wind-down that began when it redeemed its convertible debt in May. What the announcement does not contain is any figure for what those sales raised or what the strategy cost, leaving the financial outcome of the 15-month experiment undisclosed.
Sequans announced the completion on September 24, 2026, saying it had emerged with a strengthened balance sheet and a sharpened focus on its semiconductor business. The company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange as SQNS, makes 5G and 4G cellular chips for connected devices and radio transceivers.
What Sequans Says It Has Now
The company said it holds no cryptocurrency and no outstanding debt beyond obligations tied to government-financed research and development projects, describing its position as a strong cash balance with a simpler capital structure.
“The completion of our Bitcoin treasury strategy marks an important milestone for Sequans and reflects the disciplined execution of a strategy designed to strengthen our financial foundation,” said Georges Karam, the company’s chief executive. He said Sequans had eliminated its convertible debt and monetized its remaining holdings “in a measured and opportunistic manner.”
The release pairs the exit with operating figures from the core business. Product revenue grew more than 80% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026, the company said, and its six-month product backlog at the end of the quarter more than tripled against the prior year. It also said it secured its first drone design win in the second quarter and is seeing interest in its radio transceiver across defense, drone, and space customers.
How It Started
Sequans announced its bitcoin treasury strategy in June 2025 and raised about $384 million through a combination of equity and convertible secured debentures, as The Crypto Times reported. Karam then described bitcoin as “a premier asset and a compelling long-term investment.”
The accumulation was fast. Within a month the company held more than 3,000 BTC, and in July 2025 it announced a target of 100,000 bitcoin by the end of 2030, with a phased plan that envisaged equity issuance, bitcoin-backed lending, and monetization of its intellectual property portfolio.
By October 3, 2025, Sequans held approximately 3,234 bitcoin. Its own release at the time put the total net investment at about $377.2 million, an average acquisition price of $116,643 per bitcoin including fees, and the fair value of the holdings at around $400 million with bitcoin trading above $123,000.
How It Ended
The reversal came in May 2026, when Sequans redeemed its remaining convertible debt, funding the redemption in part through bitcoin sales. That left it with about 658 BTC, which it described as fully unencumbered, and it said at the time that it was no longer pursuing a digital asset treasury strategy.
By June 30, 2026, the holding had fallen to 314 bitcoin. Those have now been sold.
The company has not disclosed the prices at which any of the sales were executed, the total proceeds, or the realized gain or loss on the strategy as a whole. Those figures would normally appear in financial statements rather than a press release, and the company’s SEC filings should eventually show them.
The Wider Retreat
Sequans is not alone. Several public companies have unwound digital asset treasuries this year, as The Crypto Times reported in July, among them Bitdeer, Genius Group, and Prenetics.
The model rested on a premium. Companies holding bitcoin traded above the value of their holdings, letting them issue shares or debt on favorable terms and buy more, increasing bitcoin per share. When that premium narrowed, the mechanism stopped working, and firms with debt against their holdings faced a harder choice than those without.
Sequans’ case had an additional pressure. Its semiconductor business was reporting declining revenue and operating losses while it held the position, and the debt raised to build the treasury came due regardless of where bitcoin traded.
Karam framed the outcome as a choice rather than a retreat, saying the completed transition lets the company focus entirely on its semiconductor strategy. The release describes accelerating product growth, expanding licensing opportunities, and progress on its 5G and software-defined radio platforms.
