Vaultz Capital PLC (AQSE:V3TC) CEO Alex Appleton talked with Proactive about the company’s recent £6 million fundraising efforts and strategic focus on Bitcoin accumulation.
Appleton shared that the operating business has completed several funding rounds, including a nearly 300% increase in the first raise, 13% in the second, and 16% in the latest million-pound raise. “We believe in supporting the wider Bitcoin ecosystem,” he said.
Vaultz Capital plans to start cloud mining as part of its ambition to back the infrastructure surrounding Bitcoin.
Appleton emphasised that the company’s team brings almost 20 years of combined experience in crypto and financial markets, with expertise spanning derivatives, operations and investment management.
He also noted that the company’s conviction in Bitcoin stems from its scarcity and anti-inflationary qualities compared to fiat currencies.
When asked about Vaultz Capital’s targets, Appleton confirmed an initial goal to acquire 100 Bitcoin, progressing towards 1,000 Bitcoin over time. The company has also joined Bitcoin for Corporations to learn best practices and deepen its role in supporting Bitcoin’s network.
Vaultz Capital sees growing adoption of Bitcoin among institutions and governments, citing developments from the SEC and ETF approvals to interest from major asset managers.
Proactive: Alex, very good to meet you. It’s been a big week for Vaultz, you’ve recently announced your latest fundraising, increased investor support and also drive towards Bitcoin accumulation. Can you take us through the strategic updates and where the operating business is right now?
Alex Appleton: It’s been a pretty busy four weeks since we came on board and started. We’ve been through a number of different fundraises, so we’ve raised £6.00 million in total. All of those have been accretive for shareholder value, continue to increase the amount of Bitcoin see through that all of our shareholders have.
So the first raise was nearly a 300% increase, the second 13%. And then the most recent million pounds that we’ve raised was a 16% increase. So we’re well on the way with Bitcoin holding. The operating business, which is absolutely core to what we believe in and we believe in supporting the wider Bitcoin ecosystem. So we are looking at and going through the AML and KYC processes that these things often take to go online and start with some cloud mining, which will be our first foray into the wider ecosystem.
Proactive: Alex, your decision to raise capital for Bitcoin Treasury and also to capitalize on opportunities in the Bitcoin infrastructure ecosystem highlight your confidence in the long term prospects of the token. Tell us more about this conviction.
Alex Appleton: Yeah. So all three of us—myself, Sarah our COO and CFO—are all long-term Bitcoin holders. And we believe in, and it’s widely talked about, isn’t it, the anti-inflationary pressures that are seen amongst some fiat world and the quantitative easing that we’re seeing there. You don’t get from Bitcoin because it holds its value.
And so we see that the scarcity element of Bitcoin is what really drives the value for both us as a business and for our shareholders as well. Going forward, a lot of people are predicting very high prices for Bitcoin. I believe that fundamentally it is going to the top and quite where it will end up, who knows? But certainly the nature of Bitcoin and the algorithm that’s there means that it is a scarce resource.
Proactive: Alex, looking at the operating business, where are you seeing opportunities in the Bitcoin infrastructure ecosystem?
Alex Appleton: Yeah. So fundamentally we believe in Bitcoin, as I’ve said, as a long-term store of value. And what we want to do is really support the network and support the wider ecosystem. So first of all, as I say, that will be through supporting miners through the cloud mining. But also as believers in Bitcoin long-term, we really want to support the network, educate where we can and help learn from the best, which is part of the reason that we’ve joined Bitcoin for Corporations.
We want to be best in class. So we want to see what best in class is. And to do that we need to mix with the people who are really at the front and in the vanguard, if you like, of the Bitcoin world.
Proactive: You’re not the only UK listed company to have announced a Bitcoin treasuries strategy. What makes Vaultz Capital different, Alex?
Alex Appleton: So I think really it’s the team. So between us we’ve got nearly 20 years crypto experience between myself as CEO. We have a COO, Sarah Gow, who’s had 20 years plus in operations in Citibank, so different heads of operations. So she brings a real operational dimension to the team. We’ve also got the CFO, Pierre Villeneuve.
He has built up two different hedge funds. He understands derivatives. He’s worked with derivatives for 30 years in terms of our person who can understand stride, strike, all the different strategy vehicles that there are. He is the man for that. So we bring very complementary skill sets to the business.
Proactive: And from a day-to-day operational perspective, what signals are you seeing that underscore Bitcoin’s growing role in the future of financial systems?
Alex Appleton: I think you are seeing it everywhere at the moment. We’ve seen it from government adoption in the US. You know, go back four or five years, you saw El Salvador. You’ve seen the SEC and how they’re treating Bitcoin and that ETF piece that they put out a couple of years ago.
So it’s just becoming more and more—Blackrock, Fidelity, etc. It’s becoming a much wider used asset class trading.
Proactive: And as CEO, what are your personal ambitions for Vaultz?
Alex Appleton: We’re looking at generating long-term value for our shareholders. Fundamentally, looking at supporting the wider Bitcoin ecosystem, the educational piece, and leading and supporting Bitcoin throughout the network.
Proactive: Alex, do you have a target for how much Bitcoin Vaultz aims to acquire?
Alex Appleton: That’s the question. I think the first target is 100 Bitcoin. And then our first thousand Bitcoin. But we don’t want to put time limits out there. So that’s how we’re thinking about it.
Proactive: Alex, I hope you’ll keep us updated on your progress. Thank you very much for the introduction today.