US-based Heritage Distilling Holding Company (CASK) is taking a significant step in the cryptocurrency world, becoming the first publicly traded company to adopt Story Protocol's native asset, the IP token, as its primary treasury asset. With the support of a16z crypto and several prominent investors in the sector, the company will launch a treasury strategy with a total value of approximately $340 million.
This plan is being implemented as part of a $220 million private equity raise (PIPE) expected to close on August 13th. The transaction is funded by $100 million in cash and $120 million in IP tokens. Investors include well-known names such as Amber Group, Arrington Capital, dao5, Hashed, Mirana Ventures, Neoclassic Capital, Open World, Polychain Capital, Selini Capital, Stix, and Syncracy Capital. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and Roth Capital Partners are acting as co-placement agents and financial advisors, while Open World is advising on the treasury structure. Heritage will use $82 million of the proceeds to purchase IP tokens from the Story Foundation. The purchase price was set at $3.40 per token. At the time the acquisition was announced, the altcoin was trading at approximately $6.45. This represents a 47.3% discount to the coin's original price. The Story Foundation plans to use all net proceeds from this sale to repurchase IP tokens from the open market within 90 days.
Once the transaction is complete, Heritage will hold approximately 52.5 million IP tokens in its treasury. At current prices, these assets have a total value of approximately $340 million. Additionally, several strategic partners will contribute additional IP tokens in exchange for common shares or pre-funded warrants from Heritage.
What are IP Tokens and Story Protocol?
So, what is the IP token that Heritage will add to its treasury? IP is Story Protocol's native token, running on a Layer 1 blockchain network that tokenizes intellectual property. The platform integrates copyrights with licensing and attribution mechanisms in the NFT format. This allows artists, companies, and even AI systems to record and remix their content, generating revenue within legal compliance. Story has collaborated with famous names and brands such as Justin Bieber, BTS, Blackpink, Adidas, and Crocs.
Heritage CEO Justin Stiefel stated that this step gives the company "early access to the tokenized intellectual property economy." Story Foundation Director Matt Shaw stated that the structure offers investors equity access to IP without directly holding tokens, demonstrating "responsible governance."
Under the agreement, PIP Labs founder and Story creator Seung Yoon "SY" Lee will become chairman of Heritage's advisory board. Additionally, Phil Blows, co-founder of AQRU and B2 Capital Management, will serve as investment director, and PIP Labs CFO Ben Sternberg will serve as strategic finance advisor.
IP price declines
The IP token currently trades with a market capitalization of approximately $1.6 billion. The IP token is currently trading at $5.55, down approximately 18.5% in the last 24 hours. The price has fluctuated between $5.56 and $6.81 on the day. The decline is believed to be driven by news of Heritage's potential buyback.
