DeFi Technologies Doubles Bitcoin Treasury Holdings and Adds Solana and Core - Decrypt
07/18/2024 15:19The company added Solana and Core to its balance sheet for the first time, calling them “complements” to Bitcoin.
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Go to Alpha ReportsCanadian fintech firm DeFi Technologies (DEFTF) has added another 94.4 Bitcoin (about $6.1 million worth) to its balance sheet, building on its adoption of BTC as its “primary treasury reserve asset” last month.
This marks the firm’s second publicly announced Bitcoin purchase, bringing its total holdings up to 204.34 BTC, worth $13.2 million as of this writing.
What’s more, the company has added altcoins to its digital asset treasury for the first time. It now holds 12,775 Solana (SOL) tokens worth $2.03 million, and 1,484,148 CORE tokens worth $2.12 million.
“While Bitcoin remains a cornerstone of our treasury due to its established status as a store of value and hedge against inflation, other digital assets like Solana and Core offer unique opportunities that complement our investment strategy,” said Curtis Schlaufman, VP of communications at DeFi Technologies, to Decrypt.
Schlaufman said that Solana is an attractive investment as a high-performance blockchain, with its low fees, high throughput, and robust developer community priming it for a wide range of applications. Late last month, VanEck filed to launch a Solana ETF in the United States, citing a similar investment thesis.
Meanwhile, Core is a burgeoning layer-1 blockchain that inherits part of its security from the Bitcoin network, and also allows BTC holders to stake their coins and earn yield paid in CORE tokens. The company said it plans to partake in the Core DAO staking facility with its new investment, further enhancing its yield opportunities.
“We view Solana and Core as complements to Bitcoin rather than competitors,” Schlaufman added. “Together, these assets provide a well-rounded approach to leveraging the strengths of different blockchain technologies and maximizing our strategic investment potential.”
DeFi Technologies’ core business is Valour, which provides crypto ETPs that stake their customers’ crypto assets to earn yield and generate profit. Its two largest money makers are its Solana and Bitcoin ETPs, which earn yield through native Solana staking and Core staking respectively.
As the crypto market rallied earlier this year, DeFi Technologies generated sizable profits from its asset management business and trading desk, causing its stock to rally. When the firm later announced that it had rotated some of those profits into Bitcoin, DEFTF shares rallied even more—though there’s been substantial volatility since then.
DeFi Technologies is among a handful of firms to see success this year by making BTC a core part of its balance sheet. MicroStrategy (MSTR), the first public company to go all in on BTC, is up 132% year to date. Stock for Metaplanet, a Japanese firm that is explicitly copying MicroStrategy’s playbook, has seen a 6x jump.
As of last week—before its latest crypto purchase—DeFi Technologies held $49.3 million in cash, 110 BTC, and $13.3 million in loans payable.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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