DeFi
DeFi Technologies Doubles Bitcoin Holdings, Adds Solana and Core
Canadian financial technology company DeFi Technologies (DEFTF) added 94.4 Bitcoin (worth around $6.1 million) to its balance sheet, building on its adoption of BTC as its “primary treasury reserve asset” last month.
This is the company’s second publicly announced Bitcoin purchase, bringing its total holdings to 204.34 BTC, worth $13.2 million at the time of writing.
Additionally, the company added altcoins to its digital asset treasury for the first time, holding 12,775 of them. Solana Tokens (SOL) 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,” Curtis Schlaufman, VP of Communications at DeFi Technologies, told Decrypt.
Schlaufman said Solana is an attractive investment as a high-performance blockchain, with its low fees, high throughput, and strong developer community making it ready for a wide range of applications. Late last month, Van Eck filed to launch a Solana ETF in the United States, citing a similar investment thesis.
Meanwhile, Core is a growing layer-1 blockchain that inherits some 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 participate 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 comprehensive approach to leveraging the strengths of different blockchain technologies and maximizing our strategic investment potential.”
DeFi Technologies’ core business is Valor, which provides crypto ETPs that stake their clients’ crypto assets to earn yield and generate profits. Its two biggest moneymakers are its Solana and Bitcoin ETPs, which generate yield through Solana’s native staking and Basic staking respectively.
As the cryptocurrency market recovered earlier this year, DeFi technologies generated considerable benefits from its asset management business and trading desk, which sent its stock higher. When the company later announced that it had transferred some of those profits into Bitcoin, DEFTF shares rose even more, although substantial volatility since then.
DeFi Technologies is among the few companies that have succeeded this year by making BTC a core part of their balance sheet. MicroStrategy (MSTR), the first public company to invest entirely in BTC, is up 132% year-to-date. Shares of Metaplanet, a Japanese company that is explicitly copying MicroStrategy’s plan, has seen a 6x jump.
Last week, before its latest cryptocurrency purchase, DeFi Technologies held $49.3 million in cash, 110 BTC, and $13.3 million in loans payable.
Edited by Andre Hayward