This NYSE-Listed Food Company Aims to Stack $1.2 Billion in Bitcoin

Shares of Hong Kong-based digital food company DDC Enterprise were up about 3.5% on Wednesday after it announced that it had secured an additional $124 million in equity funding to buy more Bitcoin. 

NYSE-listed DDC, which was trading just below $9 per share, has risen about 105% since the start of the year, according to Yahoo Finance, with much of those gains coming as it started to pursue plans to build a 10,000 Bitcoin treasury worth more than $1.2 billion at BTC's current price. 

PAG Pegasus Fund and Mulana Investment Management, led the investment round with help from OKG Financial Services Limited, the company said.

"This financing round contributes not only capital, but also substantial strategic value and momentum as we advance DDC’s position as a global leader in the institutional Bitcoin space," said DDC's founder and CEO, Norma Chu.

"We are proud to welcome PAG Pegasus Fund, OKG, and Mulana as strategic partners and shareholders, representing some of the most admired names in global finance and digital assets," she added. 

"Their investment is a strong endorsement of our vision and the growing importance of public Bitcoin treasuries."

DDC Enterprise—or DayDayCook—is a digital platform that shares Asian recipes and cooking tutorials. It pivoted to BTC accumulation amid a lengthy slump in its stock price, which dipped below $2 earlier this year. 

DDC said it had already secured 1,058 BTC worth about $130 million at BTC's recent price.

Crypto data provider CoinGecko shows that the biggest digital asset by market cap was unmoved over a 24-hour period after hitting a new all-time high on Monday of $126,080. 

DDC is among a slew of firms that in recent months have adopted a crypto treasury strategy. They have followed the lead of software firm Strategy—formerly MicroStrategy—which now focuses on buying the cryptocurrency and allowing investors to get exposure to it via its shares.

Companies on the Nasdaq are now buying everything from Ethereum and XRP to Solana to get better returns for shareholders. 

Strategy has been a roaring success and is the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin; investors buy its stock to gain exposure to the asset. Its stock price has risen about 1,900% since it adopted this strategy in 2020, according to Yahoo Finance. Other BTC treasury firms’ share prices have also gained, although a number of firms have performed less well, and some analysts have raised concerns about the strategy.

The Securities and Exchange Commission last week halted trading of Digital advertising firm QMMM Holdings after its stock boomed by over 2,000% on news of a crypto treasury pivot. 

The regulator said it was investigating "potential manipulation" of the company's stock.