Original Article Title: "Which Crypto VCs are Driving the Cryptocurrency Reserve Strategy of Publicly Listed Companies?"
Original Article Author: Zen, PANews
In recent years, an increasing number of publicly listed companies have incorporated cryptocurrency assets into their balance sheets, from MicroStrategy taking the lead in betting on Bitcoin, to Trump Media & Technology Group raising $2.5 billion to build a Bitcoin treasury, to several traditional industrial and tech giants dipping their toes into stablecoins or Ethereum strategic reserves. According to BitcoinTreasuries, as of July 17th, 154 publicly listed companies have adopted a Bitcoin reserve strategy; furthermore, a research report released by DWF Labs at the end of June this year indicated that publicly listed companies have collectively invested as much as $76 billion in cryptocurrency assets.
In addition to the crypto-friendly policies of the Trump administration and the influential role of MicroStrategy, behind this trend are crypto venture capital firms and Web3 funds focusing on institutional-grade digital asset deployment—they provide publicly listed companies with comprehensive solutions such as crypto asset purchases, tokenized equity, stablecoin settlements, and on-chain treasury management through strategies like leading PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity), convertible bonds, reverse mergers, and more.
The key institutions driving the cryptocurrencyization of publicly listed companies have expanded from early players like Pantera Capital, Animoca Brands, and Sora Ventures to include firms like DWF Labs, Big Brain Holdings, GSR, Bain Capital Crypto, and more, with an increasing number of crypto VCs joining the fray.
Pantera has invested in several Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) companies, with the most famous being the financial services company Twenty One Capital led by long-time Bitcoin evangelist Jack Mallers (Nasdaq ticker: CEP). Pantera is also the largest investor in its PIPE financing round. Twenty One is attempting to emulate MSTR's strategy and has garnered support from industry giants Tether, SoftBank, and Cantor Fitzgerald. Pantera notes that Twenty One's scale is just right to leverage all capital market tools, while its market cap is smaller, allowing it the flexibility to achieve BPS growth faster than MSTR and trade at a higher premium.
In addition, Pantera also led the investment in DeFi Development Corp (NASDAQ: DFDV, formerly Janover), which has sparked the DAT trend in the United States. DFDV, led by CEO Joseph Onorati and CIO Parker White, is borrowing from MSTR's strategy but applying it to Solana. Pantera believes Solana is an interesting alternative to BTC for several reasons: its shorter maturity may offer greater upside potential than BTC; its volatility is higher than BTC, meaning that leveraging this volatility can lead to higher returns; its staking rewards component can drive per-SOL growth; and due to the currently limited alternatives available, Solana has more untapped demand.
Aside from supporting publicly traded companies holding Bitcoin and Sol treasuries, Pantera has also invested in the first Ethereum digital asset finance company in the United States, Sharplink Gaming (SBET). SBET, launched by software company Consensys led by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, introduced an ETH treasury strategy, with Pantera having collaborated with their team for over a decade.
In May 2025, Trump Media announced a fundraising of approximately $25 billion for the Bitcoin treasury construction through the issuance of $15 billion in common stock and $10 billion in convertible bonds. Galaxy Digital not only acted as the financial advisor for this debt and equity financing but was also one of the lead underwriters, designing the financing structure for the company and committing to provide liquidity support.
Prior to this, Galaxy Digital had assisted non-crypto-native companies such as GameStop and AMC in conducting crypto payments and treasury experiments, as well as served as an advisor in several SPAC mergers, driving target companies to incorporate digital assets into their strategic asset allocations. Between 2024 and 2025, Galaxy accumulated participation in over $800 million worth of publicly traded company crypto-related financings, spanning equity investments, debt financing, and advisory services.
In July 2025, Animoca announced the signing of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the food and packaging company DayDayCook (DDC). According to a joint statement released by both parties, Animoca will invest up to $100 million in Bitcoin into DDC's treasury yield strategy. Animoca's co-founder Yat Siu is also set to join DDC's "Bitcoin Visionary Council," providing strategic guidance on treasury management and yield optimization. DDC Enterprise unveiled its Bitcoin treasury plan in May of this year, aiming to acquire 5,000 BTC within three years, and purchased 21 BTC for its corporate treasury that month.
In addition, as a prominent investor in the Web3 industry rising in the NFT craze, Animoca is also seeking an opportunity to go public in the United States. According to the Financial Times, Yat Siu stated that Animoca is planning to list in New York, aiming to seize the "unique opportunity" presented by the digital asset regulatory approach of the Trump administration. With the decline of NFT and GameFi projects, in addition to investments, Animoca Brands' latest financial report also shows its transformation towards advisory services, covering token consultation, tokenomics, marketing, listing consultation, node operations, and transaction services.
In December 2024, Sora Ventures announced the launch of a $1.5 billion fund, aiming to replicate MicroStrategy's Bitcoin treasury management model for Asian public companies. The fund will focus on markets such as Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, and South Korea. The first beneficiary was Metaplanet, a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, whose stock price surged over 1000% in 2024, becoming the best-performing stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
In May of this year, Sora Ventures entered the public markets through a strategic merger with Top Win International, a Nasdaq-listed luxury goods distributor from Hong Kong, and rebranded as AsiaStrateg. This merger provided Top Win with Sora's Bitcoin expertise, with the latter engaging in Top Win's investments and treasury management. Top Win has announced plans to adopt a Bitcoin reserve strategy and intends to deploy $150 million to support Bitcoin treasury projects of at least ten publicly listed companies in the Asian market.
Recently, a Bitcoin investor alliance including Sora Ventures, AsiaStrategy, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich, and the South Korean investment firm KCGI carried out a private placement of approximately 58,862,249 new shares to the KOSDAQ-listed software service provider SGA, raising a total of around $25 million. SGA plans to utilize the new capital to support its day-to-day operations and embark on new business initiatives in the digital asset field.
In June 2025, fitness equipment and digital fitness services company Interactive Strength (Nasdaq: TRNR) announced the signing of a massive $5 billion "FET Token Treasury" financing framework, with the initial $55 million investment being jointly made by ATW Partners and DWF Labs. The funds will be used to purchase Fetch.ai's FET tokens through the BitGo platform as on-chain reserve assets for its balance sheet. TRNR stated that if the plan is fully implemented, it is expected to have the largest publicly listed crypto asset treasury focused on AI tokens. According to a research article officially released by DWF Labs, it will continue to explore new opportunities to build similar transactions in the U.S. stock market.
According to Primitive Ventures, starting from early 2025, the organization began focusing on the "Digital Asset Reserve Fund PIPE" as a key research direction, systematically screening and participating in various representative transactions to provide capital support to publicly traded companies with Ethereum-based crypto assets at the core of their reserve strategy. When SharpLink Gaming announced the completion of a $425 million private equity financing in May of this year, Primitive Ventures also participated. Primitive believes that BTC-based strategies mainly rely on financing for coin acquisition, lack asset self-generated revenue, and have higher leverage risks. In contrast, SBET has the potential to directly utilize ETH staking rewards and the DeFi ecosystem to achieve on-chain compounding growth, creating actual value for shareholders.
The U.S.-based crypto venture capital fund Big Brain Holdings recently became a significant supporter of consumer product development, manufacturing, and distribution company Upexi (NASDAQ: UPXI). In July 2025, Upexi announced a $150 million convertible bond issuance, with the issuer using locked Solana (SOL) tokens as collateral, a 2% coupon rate, and a 24-month term. Big Brain Holdings is the lead investor in this note financing. Following the completion of the financing, Upexi is expected to hold approximately 1.65 million SOL, exceeding the previously disclosed 735,000 Solana, significantly increasing the company's on-chain treasury size.
Upexi's expansion into the cryptocurrency field can be traced back at least three months ago - in April 2025, GSR led a $100 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) for Upexi, with the funds used to purchase and stake Solana tokens. This helped Upexi establish a Solana-centric crypto treasury. Public reports indicate that following the announcement of this transaction, Upexi's stock price surged by approximately 700%, highlighting the market's enthusiastic response to the company's digital asset strategy. GSR stated that this transaction reflects the growing demand from traditional capital for high-quality crypto assets. Additionally, GSR also participated in SharpLink's $425 million private equity financing.
In the GSR-led $100 million private investment in Upexi and Consensys-led $425 million private equity financing of SharpLink Gaming, many well-known crypto VCs also participated.
In addition, in the largest-ever initial funding round for a publicly traded Bitcoin financial reserve company completed by ProCap Financial, several crypto venture capital firms also participated. ProCap Financial was formed through the merger of former Morgan Creek partner Anthony Pompliano's private company, ProCap BTC, and the Nasdaq SPAC Columbus Circle Capital. Pompliano also announced the completion of a $750 million fundraising round, which will focus on acquiring Bitcoin and developing profit-generating financial products based on the holdings.
According to publicly available information, in three major private placements:
· Institutions that participated in both the SharpLink Gaming and Upexi private placements include: GSR, White Star Capital, Hivemind Capital
· Institutions that participated in both the SharpLink Gaming and ProCap Financial placements include: ParaFi Capital, Arrington Capital
· Institutions that only participated in the Upexi placement include: Big Brain Holdings, Anagram, Delphi Ventures, Maelstrom, Arthur Hayes Family Office, Borderless, Morgan Creek, Elune Capital, Delta Blockchain Fund
· Institutions that only participated in the ProCap Financial placement include: Magnetar Capital, Woodline Partners LP, Anson Funds, RK Capital, Off the Chain Capital, Blockchain.com, BSQ Capital Partners, FalconX
· Institutions that only participated in the SharpLink Gaming placement include: Electric Capital, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Hypersphere, Primitive Ventures, Republic Digital
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