Upexi, a brand owner that specializes in supply chain management, is diversifying into the cryptocurrency sector. On April 21, the company announced a $100 million raise, with over 90% earmarked for building a Solana (SOL) treasury strategy.
After the announcement, shares of Upexi have skyrocketed from a $2.30 close on April 17 to $16.79 at this writing, marking a 632% jump for the day.
Many “prominent” crypto venture capitalist firms participated in the $100 million raise, according to an announcement. Backers include the family office of Arthur Hayes, Delta Blockchain Fund, Delphi Ventures, Hivemind, Borderless, and White Star Capital, among others. The round was completed with a sale of around 44 million shares of common stock at a price of $2.28.
According to Upexi’s recent financials, it posted a profit of $3 million in the last quarter of 2024, down 34.8% or $4.6 million from the same time period in 2023.
Companies mimic Strategy
Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) was one of the first mainstream companies to adopt a cryptocurrency treasury strategy. It started purchasing Bitcoin (BTC) in August 2020, and its stock price has jumped significantly since then. Currently, over 13,000 companies have exposure to Strategy.
Other companies have followed Strategy’s lead in adopting a Bitcoin treasury, including Metaplanet, which topped $400 million in BTC holdings on April 21, and Semler Scientific, which reported paper losses for its BTC holdings on April 16.
Related: Metaplanet, Semler Scientific were ‘zombie companies’ until Bitcoin, execs say
Fewer companies adopting a crypto treasury strategy have chosen a coin other than Bitcoin. One such company is Janover, which was taken over by former Kraken executives on April 7. Like Upexi, it is adopting a Solana treasury strategy and acquired $10.5 million worth of SOL on April 15.
SOL is the native token of the Solana blockchain. The network, once seen as the “Ethereum killer,” has fast speeds based on a proof-of-history consensus mechanism. Solana has been among the big winners of the latest bull market, thanks to use cases like memecoins and decentralized infrastructure applications.
Magazine: Memecoins are ded — But Solana ‘100x better’ despite revenue plunge