Sequans Communications, the French maker of cellular chips for IoT devices, has sold its last 314 bitcoin, ending a treasury strategy it launched little more than a year ago. The company said on 24 September that it now holds no cryptocurrency and no debt other than loans tied to government-funded research projects, and that it will concentrate on its IoT chips and its radio business for drones and defence.
“The completion of our Bitcoin treasury strategy marks an important milestone for Sequans and reflects disciplined execution,” chief executive Georges Karam said. It also closes one of the stranger chapters in the IoT chip industry.
How A Chipmaker Became A Bitcoin Holder
That chapter began in June 2025, when Sequans raised $384 million through new shares and convertible debt to buy bitcoin, following the playbook of companies that hold the cryptocurrency as a reserve asset. At its peak it held more than 3,200 bitcoin, a stake that dwarfed its chip business.
The plan unravelled as quickly as it started. In November 2025 Sequans sold 970 bitcoin to repay half its convertible debt, with its shares down more than 80 percent for the year, and in May 2026 it said it was no longer pursuing the strategy, redeeming the rest of the debt. The final 314 coins, valued at $18.4 million at the end of June, are now gone.
Why Bitcoin Didn’t Help Sell Chips
The most revealing explanation came on the company’s August earnings call. Management said that when suppliers and partners judge a company’s financial strength, “Bitcoin doesn’t count”, which is why it chose to turn the remaining coins into cash.
That matters more in IoT than in most markets. A device maker choosing a cellular chip is committing to it for years, often a decade, through certification with mobile operators and long product lifetimes, so it needs confidence the supplier will still be there. A balance sheet built on a volatile asset makes that promise harder to believe.
Our read: the exit is as much about reassuring customers as about fixing the accounts. With the debt gone, Sequans can now point to a clean balance sheet when it competes for design wins.
The Chip Business Is Growing Again
Those design wins are starting to show up in revenue. In the second quarter of 2026 Sequans booked $7.5 million in revenue, 23 percent more than the previous quarter, with product sales up about 84 percent on a year earlier, and by September it said its six-month order backlog had tripled from a year earlier.
Growth comes from two low-power 4G technologies, LTE-M and Cat 1 bis, the second of which has become the default choice for many mid-speed IoT devices, as we explored in why Cat 1 bis won. Sequans says more than 40 design-win projects are now in mass production.
The company is still small and losing money, though. It posted a net loss of $9.8 million in the quarter, held $21 million in cash at the end of June, and its gross margin fell to about 33 percent. Management is aiming to reach cash-flow break-even in 2027, helped by keeping quarterly operating costs near $10 million.
The 5G Bet Comes Later
Beyond 4G, Sequans is building chips for eRedCap, a slimmed-down version of 5G designed for IoT devices that need more than basic 4G but far less than a smartphone. Karam expects it to become a key industry standard as networks move on from 4G, but customer samples are not due until the second half of 2027, with production in 2028.
That leaves a long gap to fill. Sequans won its first drone customer in the second quarter, with shipments from early 2027, and sees its defence, drone and space radio business growing to perhaps $10 million to $20 million a year.
It is also competing in a tougher module and chip market than the one it entered. Much larger rivals dominate cellular IoT, and smaller Western players are retreating, with Semtech having recently agreed to sell its modules business. Sequans had already sold part of its 4G technology to Qualcomm for $200 million in 2024 while keeping its low-power IoT line.
The open question is whether a small, now debt-free chipmaker can grow its 4G business fast enough to fund a 5G product that won’t earn money until 2028. The bitcoin detour cost time and credibility; the next few quarters will show whether the design wins can buy them back.
