In brief
- Electric vehicle maker Volcon said that it has raised $500 million to fuel a Bitcoin treasury.
- The company’s stock soared by nearly 135% on Thursday following the announcement.
- It is one of dozens of companies investing in Bitcoin, perhaps seeking lift its sagging stock.
Shares of electric vehicle maker Volcon soared nearly 135% on Thursday after the company announced that it would raise $500 million to kick-start a Bitcoin treasury, joining a growing number of firms building BTC treasuries as a major component of their corporate strategies.
The firm has entered into an agreement to sell 50,142,851 shares of its common stock at $10 per share through a private placement, according to the statement. The firm will use 95% of the roughly $500 million it raises to buy Bitcoin.
“In an era of accelerating monetary debasement, holding Bitcoin on our balance sheet represents a strategic move to safeguard shareholder value and align with a digital future,” Volcon Co-CEO John Kim said Thursday in a statement.
The deal comes as a slew of public companies are adding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to their balance sheets to improve their financials. The company reported a net loss of more than $45 million in 2024. Volcon’s share price has dropped more than 35% this year.
Michael Saylor’s software firm Strategy, which began buying billions of dollars in Bitcoin in 2020, popularized the playbook and now holds more than $72 billion worth of BTC.
More than 140 companies have added Bitcoin to their coffers, holding a combined total of $102.2 billion worth of the cryptocurrency, according to data from bitocointreasuries.net. Strategy’s holdings account for more than two-thirds of that amount, the same data shows. Gambing marketing firm SharpLink and DeFi Development Corp. among others, have pivoted over the past few months to building Ethereum and Solana treasuries, respectively.
Empery Asset Management is leading Volcon’s private placement, with participation from FalconX, Pantera, Borderless, RK Capital, and Relayer Capital. It is expected to close around July 21.
Volcon is a Texas-based designer, developer and seller of electric off-road powersport vehicles. Its product line includes the Brat, a motorcycle-like vehicle for city folks, and the Grunt e-bike for “hunting and nature dwelling.”
Bitcon was recently trading at about $120,200, up about 3% over the past week, according to crypto markets data provider CoinGecko.
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