Your corporate cash is earning nothing. Here's how to fix it.

<\!-- SECTION 1 -->

The corporate treasury problem

If you run a Canadian incorporated small business, you're almost certainly holding cash inside the corporation — retained earnings that haven't been distributed and aren't needed for near-term operations. This is common. It's also a problem that most business owners don't think about systematically.

Canadian SMBs are holding anywhere from $50,000 to $2 million in corporate savings accounts earning 2–4% GIC rates. With inflation running at 3%+, those accounts are treading water in real terms — and in some scenarios, actually losing purchasing power before tax. The retained earnings inside a CCPC (Canadian-Controlled Private Corporation) are subject to passive investment income tax at roughly 50% on any earnings above operating needs. If you're not actively investing those retained earnings, you're losing to both inflation and high passive tax rates simultaneously.

A 1–5% Bitcoin allocation on retained earnings is not speculative positioning — it's an asymmetric hedge on a portion of your corporate balance sheet that isn't working hard enough. The structure is straightforward: hold regulated TSX-listed Bitcoin ETFs inside a WealthSimple Business account, alongside a personal TFSA position in your own name.

<\!-- SECTION 2 -->

WealthSimple Business — what it is and how to open it

WealthSimple Business is WealthSimple's corporate investment account offering for Canadian incorporated businesses. It supports the same Bitcoin ETFs available in personal accounts — FBTC, BTCC.B, BTCX.B — held inside a corporate non-registered account under the company's legal name.

What you need to open a WealthSimple Business account

• Articles of Incorporation (federal or provincial)
• Business Number (CRA)
• Corporate banking account details for funding
• Director/officer information and ID verification
• Beneficial ownership declaration (standard AML requirement)

The process takes approximately 15 minutes online. WealthSimple handles KYC and AML compliance — you don't need to visit a branch or engage a brokerage advisor. Once open, the account operates like a self-directed brokerage under the corporation's name.

The two-account strategy: corporate + personal TFSA

The most tax-efficient structure for a Canadian incorporated business owner is the two-account approach:

Together, these two accounts maximize total household Bitcoin exposure across the most tax-efficient wrappers available to a CCPC owner. The corporate position gives you scale (large retained earnings base); the personal TFSA gives you the cleanest tax treatment (zero capital gains).

ETF selection for corporate accounts

The same ETF analysis applies in a corporate account as in a personal one. For cost-efficiency, FBTC (Fidelity, 0.39% MER) or BTCX.B (CI, 0.40% MER) are preferred. There is no reason to pay BTCC.B's 1.0% MER unless you have a specific reason to prefer Purpose as the issuer.

<\!-- SECTION 3 -->

Corporate treasury policy — what to say to your accountant

Before adding Bitcoin ETFs to your corporate balance sheet, you need to have a straightforward conversation with your accountant. This section gives you the language and framework to make that conversation productive.

The key message is simple: a treasury policy that allocates 1–5% of retained earnings to regulated, TSX-listed Bitcoin ETFs is defensible, increasingly common among Canadian professional corporations, and does not constitute speculative behavior under any reasonable interpretation of corporate governance standards.

Points to raise with your accountant

1. These are regulated securities listed on the TSX FBTC and BTCC.B are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. They are registered with Canadian securities regulators. Holding them is no different from holding any other TSX-listed ETF — the underlying asset is Bitcoin, but the security itself is a conventional investment fund.
2. Document this in a board resolution Pass a simple board resolution approving the treasury investment policy — "Resolved that the corporation may invest up to [X%] of retained earnings in regulated Bitcoin ETFs listed on the TSX." One page, signed by the director(s). Keeps the decision documented at the corporate level.
3. Confirm the accounting treatment: mark-to-market vs. cost method Ask your accountant whether the ETF position should be carried at fair value (mark-to-market) or at cost on the corporate balance sheet. For ASPE (Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises), the treatment depends on the corporation's election. Confirm before the first purchase.
4. Bitcoin is a capital asset — gains are capital, not income CRA's position is that Bitcoin is taxed as a commodity, and gains on investment-grade holdings are capital gains, not business income — provided the corporation is holding the ETF as an investment, not actively trading it. Document the investment intent clearly in the treasury policy.

<\!-- SECTION 4 -->

The personal + corporate combo

For a CCPC owner, the optimal structure combines both accounts. Here's how to think about it in practice:

Example: $500,000 retained earnings, $95,000 personal TFSA room

Total household Bitcoin exposure: $15,350 across both accounts. Total exposure as a percentage of total liquid wealth (assuming $595K total): 2.58%. This is disciplined, defensible, and optimized across the available tax wrappers.

The corporate position benefits from the CDA mechanism; the personal TFSA position benefits from complete tax freedom. Neither position is large enough to constitute a material risk to the business or household, but together they represent meaningful long-term positioning if Bitcoin continues its historical trajectory.

Ongoing management

Once both positions are established, ongoing management is minimal:

• Review both positions annually alongside your corporate year-end
• Rebalance if either position drifts significantly beyond target (more than 2x the target percentage)
• Coordinate with your accountant on year-end reporting: unrealized gains/losses on the corporate balance sheet, CDA tracking
• Personal TFSA: no reporting required — contributions and withdrawals affect room for future years

<\!-- INLINE CTA --> <\!-- CLOSING MODULE -->