French semiconductor company Sequans Communications plans to suspend its crypto treasury strategy and gradually sell its bitcoin (BTC) holdings.

On May 28 (local time), blockchain outlet Cointelegraph reported that Sequans said it would end its digital-asset treasury strategy launched in June 2025 and refocus on growth in Internet of Things (IoT) semiconductors.

The company currently holds 658 BTC. Their value was about $48 million at the time of disclosure. It explained that the holdings are not pledged as collateral and face no disposal restrictions. It therefore plans to gradually convert the remaining holdings into cash.

Debt cleanup was presented as the direct backdrop to the strategic shift. Sequans said it fully redeemed all convertible bonds issued in July 2025. In the process, it sold some bitcoin to secure funds for redemption. The company said it would shift its business focus from cryptocurrency back to its core business after sorting out its financial structure.

Sequans CEO Georges Karam (조르주 카람) said, "We are fully focused on scaling our IoT semiconductor business." The announcement did not mention any plan to expand crypto investments, a different message from a year earlier. At the time, he described bitcoin as an attractive long-term investment as he announced plans to sell $384 million worth of equity securities and convertible secured bonds.

Market reaction was mixed. Sequans shares rose more than 14.5 percent early in the session after the announcement, but were down more than 75 percent since June last year. Bitcoin prices also weakened after Sequans adopted the strategy. Over the same period, bitcoin fell more than 30 percent to around $73,000 from $105,419.

The decision reduced the number of European-listed companies investing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to 40. U.S.-listed companies number 67, based on Bitcoin Treasuries tallies. Among them, Strategy announced on May 18 a further $2 billion bitcoin purchase, raising its total holdings to 843,738 BTC.

Another French company, Capital B, said it bought more than $15 million worth of bitcoin last week, lifting its total holdings to 3,135 BTC. Its shares, however, fell more than 16 percent after the announcement. Capital B is the 25th-largest corporate holder of bitcoin treasury reserves globally, following Germany's Bitcoin Group SE.

Against that backdrop, Sequans' exit showed that bitcoin treasury strategies among European listed firms are not uniformly expanding. The company plans to dispose of its remaining bitcoin in stages and focus funding on IoT semiconductor business growth rather than cryptocurrency.

Sequans completes full redemption of its convertible debt ✅ Stronger balance sheet, simplified capital structure, and focus on scaling its IoT semiconductor business https://t.co/QYU5EPqjmO$SQNS pic.twitter.com/Nj46rs8yms