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Méliuz despatched its shares tumbling over 8% Friday after the Brazilian fintech introduced a main share providing geared toward elevating as much as 450 million reais ($78.6 million) to purchase extra Bitcoin.

The cashback and coupon firm, which trades on Brazil’s B3 change below the ticker CASH3, initially plans to supply 17 million widespread shares to lift 150 million reais ($26.2 million). The corporate even left room to develop the providing by as much as 200%, doubtlessly tripling the quantity if demand materializes.

The announcement marks the most recent chapter in Méliuz’s transformation from a conventional fintech into what it calls Brazil’s first Bitcoin treasury firm. Since March, when the corporate introduced a $4.13 million buy, Méliuz has accrued 320.2 BTC price roughly $33.55 million at present costs.

Meliuz was one of many first Brazilian fintechs to supply crypto publicity to its shoppers. This new step is simply a part of a method to extend its involvement with the crypto trade.

“Moderately than simply allocating a part of its money to Bitcoin as a hedge in opposition to inflation or forex devaluation, the corporate has repositioned its objective to behave by maximizing the quantity of Bitcoin per share,” the corporate mentioned in a earlier assertion about its technique shift.

Markets seem to have priced within the information. Méliuz’s inventory has swung wildly over the previous 12 months—up round 217% general since beginning 2025 at round 2.53 reais per share, and climbing all the best way to a multi-year excessive at round 11 reais. Friday’s drop introduced the worth to eight.13 reais, with buying and selling quantity hitting 6.51 million shares as traders digested the dilution information.

Ray Nasser, head of the Latin America arm of buying and selling agency BlockFills, beforehand advised Decrypt that the corporate was copying Technique (previously MicroStrategy) to assist get shareholders extra worth for cash. “The corporate misplaced its relevance over time, and its inventory worth went down,” he mentioned. “Though it made a turnaround in 2024, it is doing what Technique is doing now, it is driving hype.”

The comparability to MicroStrategy is not unintended. The U.S. software program agency pioneered the Bitcoin treasury playbook, accumulating 580,250 BTC—over $60 billion price of the cryptocurrency—via repeated capital raises. Throughout bull runs, MicroStrategy’s inventory has outperformed Bitcoin itself, creating what some name a “Bitcoin proxy” for conventional traders.

However Méliuz operates at a unique scale. The corporate’s market cap hovers round 305 million reais ($53.8 million), a fraction of its 9 billion reais peak after going public in 2020.

Pricing is ready for June 12 on the Méliuz providing, with buying and selling of latest shares starting June 16. The corporate scheduled two precedence subscription intervals for present shareholders—the primary starting June 4 after a June 3 cutoff date, and the second ending June 10 after a June 9 cutoff—giving them first dibs on the brand new shares.

Méliuz’s Bitcoin holdings presently present a modest 3% revenue in line with Bitcoin Treasuries, with a median buy worth of $101,575 per coin. The corporate paid barely above market price for its preliminary 45.72 BTC buy in March, shopping for at a median of $90,926 when costs have been climbing.

“This can be a shift away from its core enterprise, however its inventory has seen the hype and advantages. It is understanding for them,” Nasser advised Decrypt concerning the technique pivot.

Based in 2011, Méliuz constructed its enterprise on cashback rewards and low cost coupons, partnering with over 1,000 manufacturers and accumulating 35 million registered customers. Méliuz began providing Bitcoin publicity to shoppers again in 2022 when PayPal and different firms confirmed optimistic outcomes experimenting with crypto purchases.

The corporate’s bank card expanded its monetary providers footprint past easy purchasing rewards, and pioneered the “cryptoback” function, letting customers receive cashback in BTC for his or her purchases. That function is not out there.

Edited by Andrew Hayward