Michael Saylor’s imitators are multiplying fast.

Dozens of publicly traded companies, a media firm controlled by President Trump’s family, and meme stock poster child GameStop (GME) are all piling into a bet that Saylor used to turn a business intelligence software firm into a bitcoin juggernaut called Strategy (MSTR).

The blueprint developed by Saylor is to use a combination of debt and equity to add bitcoin to a company’s balance sheet — and lots of it.

Since Saylor first announced his plans to do so in August 2020, Strategy has spent $40.7 billion to amass more than 580,000 bitcoins and become the largest corporate holder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

His company’s stock has climbed more than 2,900%, far ahead of the S&P 500’s 76% gain.

Now, many imitators are trying to replicate that stock price success with their own big bets, adding bitcoin to their balance sheets even if their companies initially operated outside the cryptocurrency industry.

Since 2023, public companies have increased their exposure to the digital asset by 160% and now hold roughly 3.4% of all bitcoins in circulation, according to Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani.

In all, 80 companies have adopted the so-called “bitcoin standard” by holding bitcoin as part of their treasury reserves, according to Bernstein and data tracked by Coinkite. Many of them are issuing equity, leveraging debt, or a combination of both to fund their investments.

Recently, the limits for investor interest in such a play were tested. Last week, the stocks of Trump’s namesake media company, Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT), and video game retailer GameStop each fell about 10% following separate announcements to amass bitcoin.

Trump Media unveiled plans to raise $2.5 billion to create what it claims will be one of the largest bitcoin treasuries held by any public company, noting it is part of a broader strategy to integrate digital assets across its media and financial ecosystem.

"We view bitcoin as an apex instrument of financial freedom," Trump Media CEO and chair Devin Nunes said in the release.

GameStop, perhaps the best-known meme stock embraced by everyday investors during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, said it purchased 4,710 bitcoin — an investment valued at over $500 million at the time of the announcement.

GameStop and Trump Media — the parent company of social media platform Truth Social and streaming service Truth+ — are not the only firms outside of the cryptocurrency world making a pivot to Saylor’s approach.