Luxembourg-based security token offering investment platform STOKR has raised $7.99 million for its Bitcoin (BTC) treasury project.
According to an Oct. 24 press release, STOKR concluded a €7.4 million ($7.99 million) funding round led by Fulgur Ventures. The development was announced during the Plan ₿ event in Lugano, Switzerland.
A European Bitcoin treasury
Per the announcement, “a significant portion of the funds will be used to establish one of Europe’s first corporate Bitcoin treasuries.” STOKR raised 100 Bitcoin (worth $6.78 million) and €1.2 million in cash (worth nearly $1.3 million).
STOKR intends to use the funds to develop new Bitcoin-related tokenized assets for the market and create the infrastructure for institutions to issue securities on Bitcoin-based layer-two technologies. One layer-two protocol explicitly cited in the announcement is the Liquid Network.
The company also announced the intention to increase its regulatory compliance and transition from its virtual asset service provider status to being a crypto asset service provider according to the European Union’s new Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) regulatory framework.
Europe’s MicroStrategy
STOKR clearly announced that it intends to follow in the footsteps of top corporate Bitcoin holder MicroStrategy. This would be achieved “by aggressively expanding its new Bitcoin treasury over the coming years.” STOKR Co-CEO, Arnab Naskar said:
“STOKR is building capital markets on top of Bitcoin. This fundraise marks a pivotal moment for STOKR as we continue to push the boundaries of asset tokenization. […] With six years of experience, we recognize the vast potential of asset tokenization on Bitcoin. Establishing a Bitcoin treasury is a logical next step for STOKR, as a leading platform for tokenized Bitcoin derivatives.’’
STOKR is not the first company to adopt MicroStrategy’s strategy. Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has acquired the nickname of “Japan’s MicroStrategy” and recently announced the acquisition of an additional 107.913 Bitcoin. With this latest purchase, the company now has 506.745 BTC of total holdings — worth $31.5 million at the time of writing.