The New MicroStrategy? UK Firm Settles Majority Of Convertible Notes In Bitcoin — Details

A new contender has entered the conversation about institutional Bitcoin adoption, and it’s not from Silicon Valley. London-listed Satsuma Technology, formerly TAO Alpha, has completed a massive £163.6 million ($218 million) convertible note financing round, but with an unexpected twist: nearly 60% of it was settled in BTC. 

According to a recent announcement, a total of 1,097 BTC, valued at around £96.9 million at the time of the transaction, is now sitting on the company’s books.

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Satsuma Settles Convertible Noted In Bitcoin

This event, which closed on July 28, marks the first known large-scale Bitcoin-denominated capital raise by a publicly listed company in London. With the move, Satsuma’s total Bitcoin holdings now stand at 1,126 BTC, worth over $128 million at current rates, and the BTC is held by Satsuma Pte, the company’s Singapore-registered subsidiary.

According to data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET, Satsuma is the second-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin in the UK behind The Smarter Web Company. Its BTC holdings were bought at an average cost basis of $115,149. 

Henry K. Elder, CEO of Satsuma Technology, noted that the proceeds will be used to grow its decentralized AI infrastructure and bolster its digital asset reserves. It also noted transparency and that regular reporting on its BTC holdings will be part of its operational structure moving forward.

Stepping Into MicroStrategy’s Shadow

The scale and structure of Satsuma’s BTC acquisition can be compared to that of MicroStrategy. Under the leadership of its co-founder, Michael Saylor, the US intelligence and software firm has famously transformed itself into a quasi-Bitcoin ETF. MicroStrategy started its Bitcoin acquisition trend in 2020 with the acquisition of 21,454 BTC worth $250 million at the time. Since then, MicroStrategy has accumulated over 628,791 BTC with a total cost of $33.139 billion.

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Satsuma may still be in the early stages of its Bitcoin journey, but the nature of its financing, taking in BTC directly rather than converting fiat post-raise, is a strategy that even MicroStrategy has not employed. 

MicroStrategy typically raises funds through bond offerings or stock sales and later deploys the capital into BTC. Satsuma, on the other hand, is accepting Bitcoin at the funding stage. The most recent fundraising round, which was led by ParaFi Capital, attracted support from major crypto companies such as Pantera Capital, Digital Currency Group (DCG), and Kraken.com. It also brought in backing from leading UK equity market participants managing a combined £300 billion in assets under management.

Satsuma’s move comes at a time when regulatory attitudes in the UK are beginning to show signs of softening toward digital assets. If successful, the move could open the door for other publicly traded companies in Europe and beyond to begin incorporating Bitcoin into their balance sheets. At the time of writing, 3,658 BTC are being held by publicly listed companies in the UK, while 88 BTC are being held by private companies.

Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com

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