Spanish Coffee Brand Investments Heavy into Cryptocurrency Market: A staggering $1 billion allocated by a renowned Spanish coffee brand towards the cryptocurrency market, focusing on Bitcoin.
Hittin' the Bitcoin Coffee
Get ready for your morning java to mix with some digital crypto – yep, you heard that right! Spanish coffeehouse giant, Vanadi Coffee SA, is planning to redefine their brand by diving headfirst into the world of Bitcoin.
This shake-up comes as a whopping $1.13 billion (€1 billion) worth of crypto is on the table, aiming to transform the company from a popular coffee joint into a self-proclaimed "crypto-first" corporation. The board is set to debate this outlandish proposal on June 29.
See You Later, Profits (Maybe)
According to the local grapevine, Vanadi suffered a net loss of $3.7 million in 2024. Ouch! That's after a bumpy start on the stock market when their shares (ticker: VANA) debuted at €3.28 ($3.73) in July 2023, only to plummet to a pathetic €0.28 ($0.32) – a painful 91.46% drop. Makes you wanna cry into your latte, doesn't it, chairman Salvador Martí? He's pushing the board to approve a plan that could breathe new life into the company's floundering strategy.
Riding the Bitcoin Rollercoaster
Vanadi has already dipped its toe in the Bitcoin pool, thanks to Martí's initial purchase of 5 BTC at a total cost of $527,110. And guess what? The stock surged from €0.40 ($0.46) to approximately €0.49 ($0.56) in a single day after that buy, on May 21. But as quick as the gains came, they disappeared when Bitcoin tumbled from approximately $111,000 to around $105,000, sending Vanadi's shares right back down to €0.28 ($0.32). Talk about a rollercoaster ride!
Convertible Financing Could Stretch Shareholders Thin
Martí isn't just proposing to dip into the crypto reserves. He wants the keys to the kingdom to negotiate convertible financing, which could mean Vanadi issuing new shares to snatch up more Bitcoin. Sounds great for new investors, right? But current shareholders might find their stake shrinking if the strategy doesn't pan out. If Bitcoin doesn't rally, shares might stay low, and debt or equity could become a mammoth burden. Bottom line: this plan hands the company's fate over to Bitcoin's next big move.
Jumpin' on the Corporate Bitcoin Bandwagon
Martí's proposal didn't fall from a tree. Other companies have been buying Bitcoin like hotcakes since 2020, thanks to MicroStrategy's pioneering crypto investments. GameStop is even on the list of at least 12 companies that made Bitcoin investments this year. Some governments are even mulling over the idea of holding Bitcoin as a reserve asset. So, Martí's pitch is jumping on a growing trend: businesses trading cash for BTC. But it also means Vanadi will be left high and dry if their coffee sales keep fizzling out.
Featured image from Imagen, chart from TradingView
Editorial Process
In 2021, several companies followed MicroStrategy's lead in investing in Bitcoin. Here are some heavy hitters that joined the party:
- Tesla: Elon Musk's baby, Tesla, made some serious waves when it announced it had sank $1.5 billion into Bitcoin in February 2021. What's more? They planned to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment for their products.
- Square: Jack Dorsey's Square, Inc., splashed out $50 million on Bitcoin in October 2020, and then dug in deeper by purchasing an extra $170 million worth of Bitcoin in early 2021, taking their total Bitcoin stash to around 8,027 BTC.
- Meitu: This Chinese tech powerhouse wasn't shy about investing $90 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum in early 2021. Cutting-edge technology they are, indeed!
- Valkyrie Investments: And let's not forget Valkyrie Investments, a U.S.-based investment firm, that also dabbled in Bitcoin in 2021, though specific investment details were kept on the down-low. These companies, along with others, contributed to the booming trend of corporate Bitcoin adoption in 2021. However, the search results do not provide a complete list of all companies that invested in Bitcoin that year.
Businesses are increasingly investing in Bitcoin, as seen with companies like Tesla, Square, Meitu, and Valkyrie Investments, all of which made significant Bitcoin purchases in 2021. In a similar vein, Vanadi Coffee SA, the Spanish coffeehouse giant, is planning to redefine itself by embracing Bitcoin, aiming to transform from a popular coffee joint into a "crypto-first" corporation, utilizing the innovative power of technology in finance and investing.
