Video Startup Angel Studios Discloses $10.6M Bitcoin Investment

The community-driven movie streaming platform, Angel Studios, has recently revealed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it purchased Bitcoin worth more than $10.6 million.

In the filing, Angel Studios noted that its bitcoin purchase was part of its plan to diversify and maximize returns on its cash balances. The company noted in the filing,

“In 2021, we invested an aggregate of approximately $10,600,000 in bitcoin to further diversify returns on cash and cash equivalents balances that are not required to maintain adequate operating liquidity.”

The company, however, pointed out that due to the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies, its bitcoin investment recorded an impairment loss of $2.7 million as of December 31, 2021.

Utah-based Angel Studios is a community-driven movie studio that intends to “put the power of television back into the hands of the people who are actually watching it”. The company empowers users to decide what content gets funded, produced, and distributed. 

The company’s innovative solution allows creators to pitch their projects on the Angel platform, and “Angel investors” get to select and fund the ones they’re most excited to see. Once produced, the content is delivered directly to viewers without any intermediaries and it goes viral when fans repeatedly share it with their friends.

Angel Studios has so far produced some of the most-successful crowdfunded shows, including The Chosen, Dry Bar Comedy, and more. Earlier in January, the company raised $47 million in a funding round led by the popular venture capital firm, Gigafund and Uncorrelated Ventures.

Institutional Interest in Bitcoin Continues Unabated

With bitcoin’s potential becoming more evident, several institutional investors have become increasingly interested in the asset class. Many have adopted it, provided its services to their clients, and added it to their portfolios.

The largest corporate holder of bitcoin, MicroStrategy, remains committed to its resolve to continue purchasing the digital asset. The company recently added $195 million worth of bitcoin to its stash.

Speaking of adoption, the Central African Republic made headlines last week as the first African country, and the second in the world, to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.