More than a dozen small and micro-cap companies in London have adopted bitcoin treasury strategies, holding the cryptocurrency as a balance sheet asset.
The trend, which began in the US with MicroStrategy and Tesla, has spread across London's Aquis Exchange, AIM junior market and the London main market.
There was a loud thrum of crypto-related activity in London this week, including AIM-listed Sundae Bar Plc (AIM:SBAR) announcing a bitcoin treasury pivot and launching a £500,000 retail share offer, sending its shares up 24%.
Sundae Bar, which floated three weeks ago as a developer of an AI agent marketplace, said it now considers bitcoin a potential store of value and hedge against inflation.
Jill Kenney, chief executive, said the move balanced "financial innovation" with "governance and risk management" and would support the group’s long-term flexibility.
On the main market, Vinanz Ltd (LSE:BTC, OTCQB:VINZF), the bitcoin miner that floated in January and is in the process of changing its name to the London Bitcoin Company, made its first purchase since tripling the size of a recent fundraising to £3.6 million last week as investors flocked to the new trend.
Vinanz, led by serial entrepreneur David Lenigas as executive chair, who has brought in fresh-faced Hewie Rattray as CEO in a "non-director role", spent $3.85 million to buy 37.72 bitcoin and take its total holdings to 58.68 of the digital tokens. The shares jumped 35% in early Tuesday trading.
There were also two announcements on Aquis, the birthplace of the UK bitcoin treasury trend.
Vaultz Capital PLC (AQSE:V3TC) trumpeted its first bitcoin investment, having switched its focus from exploring for gas as Helium Ventures.
It said the purchase marked the "formal commencement" of its bitcoin treasury policy, "which aims to build a strategic position in Bitcoin over a multi-year horizon".
Wholesale pivot or side hustle
While some companies are making a wholesale pivot, others are touting their crypto switch alongside their other activities, or to help fund existing projects.
Amazing AI Plc (AQSE:AAI), fresh from a name change from Investment Evolution and a strategy change to focus on the distribution of AI finance-related services, announced today that it has further tweaked its game plan with the implementation of a bitcoin treasury policy.
The company stated that it will "continue to focus on delivering its organic growth strategy centered on consumer lending and on exploring AI finance-related services whilst growing a bitcoin treasury over the shorter-term".
Panther Metals PLC (LSE:PALM) yesterday said it plans to finance a mining asset through bitcoin treasury, which led to its shares surging 22%.
Aquis-listed Mendell Helium PLC (AQSE:MDH) also said it is implementing a bitcoin treasury policy alongside potential crypto mining projects, while still pursuing its helium interests. It raised £0.5 million in a subscription fundraising.
The Scotland-based firm, led by Nick Tulloch, former corporate financier at Cenkos and Cantor Fitzgerals and turned CBD retailer Voyager Life and Zoetic, also gave an update on engineering and permitting work at a potential helium well in Kansas, while noting that it still has an option to acquire M3 Helium, a producer of helium which is based in the same US state and holds an interest in ten wells.
Smarter move
These fundraisings all pale in comparison with the progress made by The Smarter Web Company (AQSE:SWC), which last week continued an impressive rally since listing in April.
As a web design and digital marketing company, it reversed into Aquis listed shell Uranium Energy Exploration with an initial valuation of just under £4 million.
With last week's additional £29.3 million fundraising, the fifth capital raise since floating, including a deal with Shard Merchant Capital, it attained a market cap of roughly £430 million, a 100-fold inflation in its valuation following its pioneering move into cryptocurrency, specifically bitcoin.
According to its most recent update, earlier today, Smarter Web has bought 543.52 bitcoin, at an average purchase price of £77,988.
Other players
Others to join the fray make this a trend that encompasses an estimated 14 London small caps.
Others include Pri0r1ty Intelligence Group PLC (LSE:PR1), another AI services firm that said last week that it has formally adopted a bitcoin treasury strategy. The company has integrated cryptocurrency payment options into its onboarding process, allowing customers to pay with Bitcoin and stablecoins.
It's a very similar story to Cykel AI PLC (LSE:CYK), which raised £750,000 at the end of last month after it adopted its bitcoin treasury strategy, though its most recent update was centred on its AI-backed recruitment agent.
Older statesmen in this growing subsector include Coinsilium Group Limited (AQSE:COIN, OTCQB:CINGF), which was an early AIM adopter of crypto themes.
It has just raised £4 million in a significantly oversubscribed retail offer, up from an initial £2.5 million as the blockchain and crypto company said it was seeing a high degree of interest in its Bitcoin treasury venture, Forza, which now holds 25.2392 bitcoin after being launched this spring.
Not all moves into the digital currency space are being backed by investors, though.
Investor Bluebird Mining Ventures (LSE:BMV), for example, is broadening its strategy to include both gold and Bitcoin, though its shares fell after an announcement that it had agreed to acquire 756 Bitcoin mining machines.