The public finance company is teaming up with top crypto players to hold SUI as its main reserve asset.
Mill City Ventures, a publicly traded U.S.-based specialty finance company, announced on Monday a $450 million private investment deal to accumulate SUI tokens as its main asset.
Most of the money raised (close to 98%) will be used to buy SUI, the native token of the Sui blockchain, which currently boasts a total value locked (TVL) of over $2 billion, per DeFiLlama. The remaining 2% will support Mill City’s existing short-term lending businesses, according to a press release viewed by The Defiant.
Mill City plans to acquire SUI tokens on both the open market and through private transactions, including direct purchases from the Sui Foundation. This initiative makes Mill City the “sole company” holding SUI as a primary treasury asset with support from the Sui Foundation, per the release.
SUI is currently trading at $3.97, down 7% on the day, but up 42% over the past month, according to CoinGecko.
This initiative marks a big shift in Mill City’s strategy, from focusing on short-term lending to becoming part of the growing crypto and blockchain space. The move also highlights a broader trend of traditional finance (TradFi) firms investing in cryptocurrencies, particularly as treasury assets.
“We’re launching at a pivotal moment when both institutional crypto and AI are reaching critical mass — creating significant opportunities across blockchain infrastructure,” said Stephen Mackintosh, the proposed Chief Investment Officer of Mill City and General Partner at Karatage, per the release. “We believe that Sui is well-positioned for mass adoption with the speed and efficiency institutions require for crypto at scale, plus the technical architecture capable of supporting AI workloads while maintaining security and decentralization.”
The investment was spearheaded by Karatage, a London-based crypto hedge fund, and the Sui Foundation, which supports the development of the Sui network. Several prominent firms also participated in the initial offering, including Galaxy Digital, Pantera Capital, Electric Capital, and ParaFi.
The Offering is scheduled to close on or around July 31, and once established, Galaxy Asset Management is expected to manage the SUI treasury.
Mill City Ventures’ stock, which is traded on the NASDAQ, closed at $5.94 on Monday, relatively unchanged on the day. However, it’s up 230% since Thursday, indicating potential frontrunning ahead of the public announcement.
Source: https://thedefiant.io/news/tradfi-and-fintech/mill-city-ventures-to-buy-usd450m-of-sui-tokens-in-blockchain-pivot