Inside this Bitcoin 'proxy' stock's meteoric 4x rally

Summary: A little-known Indian stock has surged 4x in just six months without launching a single new product or service. And yet, this obscure company’s market value has exploded, fuelled by a radical crypto bet that has stunned the market. But is there real business strength here or just a shiny new narrative riding on market hype? Let’s find out

If you are a cryptocurrency enthusiast, you would know how Bitcoin has been acting like it just discovered steroids, making upward strides and hardly catching its breath. And yet, here in India, before we can say “to the moon”, the taxman has already set up camp on the launchpad. A flat 30 per cent capital gains tax plus a 1 per cent TDS quickly tempers the Bitcoin thrill.

But what if there were another way to own Bitcoin without the hassle of wallets, private keys, or explaining to our CA why we bought something called Dogecoin? Enter Jetking Infotrain—a listed company whose share has gone to the moon, rising more than four times in just six months, thanks to its alluring pitch: treat it as a proxy for owning Bitcoin. The frenzy is such that even the Burman family, promoters of FMCG giant Dabur, holds a 9 per cent stake.

From radio to Bitcoin

Jetking’s origins go back decades. Founded as Navbharat Radio by Gordhandas Bharwani, it sold radios and electronics before reinventing itself as a hardware and networking training brand. For most of its recent history, Jetking’s bread and butter was teaching people how to fix computers and networks. This was, until the company announced in late 2024 that it was adopting a “Bitcoin Standard” for its treasury—a first for an Indian listed company. In simple terms, Jetking is now acting as a Bitcoin vault: it will hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet as its main asset and its fortunes will largely rise and fall with the price of the cryptocurrency.

This pivot wasn’t just a quiet boardroom decision. It’s being evangelised publicly by Jetking’s joint MD and CFO Siddarth Bharwani. On LinkedIn, he signs off posts with “Jai Hind! Jai Bitcoin” and urges investors to “consider Jetking equity as a cling-wrap around Bitcoin”. In his view, “Bitcoin is the people’s currency. Jetking is the people’s company”.

The MicroStrategy parallel

If this sounds familiar, it’s because in the US, MicroStrategy has run a similar playbook under Michael Saylor—issuing equity and debt to buy Bitcoin, making the crypto its primary reserve asset. Jetking is following that path, albeit at a much smaller scale.

Let’s take it at face value: Is this worth our money?

There’s nothing here to suggest this is a scam. But the investment case? That’s where we must keep our wits.

1. No escape from taxes

Being a corporation doesn’t mean dodging India’s crypto tax rules. When the company changed its strategy from cryptos to specifically Bitcoin, it sold its other cryptos like Ethereum and USDT in order to buy Bitcoin. The company earned a net gain of Rs 1.3 crore from the transaction and had to set aside Rs 36 lakh for tax obligations. This is the same tax leakage that individual investors face. There’s no corporate exemption when it comes to crypto gains in India.

2. No operating business model and poor financials

Owning Jetking shares is not like owning a business with products, services or steady income. It’s effectively owning a slice of a Bitcoin stash. And it’s worth noting that even before the Bitcoin pivot, the business hasn’t exactly been a fairy tale. In the last decade, revenues have been modest, profits inconsistent and growth elusive. And now after doing away with its training courses business, the company’s fortunes will simply mirror Bitcoin’s price.

3. Funding future buys = dilution

With no operating income to fund further Bitcoin purchases, the money will have to come from issuing more shares. That dilutes existing shareholders and doesn’t create intrinsic value, rather only more Bitcoin on the balance sheet.

4. Valuation stretch

For the sake of it, let’s consider Bitcoin as a proper asset similar to that of land or gold, or any other instrument. The company currently holds 21 bitcoins in its portfolio, worth around Rs 21 crore. But the company’s valuation? Rs 191 crore.

The optimism is infectious—Bharwani predicts “Bitcoin is going mainstream in India within 12 months” and lays out a timeline where “2010–2020 was the community era, 2020–2030 will be corporations and 2030 onwards will be countries”. But even in this bullish worldview, 21 Bitcoins is still a tiny holding compared to the Rs 191 crore market cap the stock commands.

Takeaway

Jetking’s pivot to Bitcoin has been a masterstroke for its stock price and a headline-grabber for sure. But as investors, we must remember: this is not a diversified business; it’s a proxy for Bitcoin, an asset that is riddled with uncertainty and taxes. And all of this? At a steep premium. Unless you have a very high tolerance for risk and volatility, this is one ride best admired from the sidelines.

Build a solid stock portfolio instead

Bitcoin may make headlines, but it’s also volatile, speculative and especially in India, tax-heavy. Owning a company that’s little more than a wrapper around Bitcoin means your fortunes rise and fall with a single, unpredictable asset that produces no income and can swing wildly overnight.

If you want to build lasting wealth, the smarter path is to own real businesses—companies with tangible assets, consistent cash flows and products or services that the world can’t do without.

That’s exactly what you get with Value Research Stock Advisor—our carefully chosen recommendations of fundamentally strong, future-ready companies, backed by in-depth research and a proven track record.

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Also read: How to lose money in the stock market