Mill City Completes $450M Private Placement Shifts 98% to SUI Treasury Strategy

Mill City Ventures III, Ltd. (NASDAQ: MCVT) has completed a $450 million private placement to establish a Sui treasury strategy, marking a strategic shift from its previous focus as a non-bank lender and specialty finance company. The offering involved 83,025,830 shares of common stock sold at $5.42 per share, with proceeds allocated 98% toward acquiring SUI tokens—the native cryptocurrency of the Sui blockchain—and 2% to fund the company’s short-term lending operations. The transaction, led by Karatage Opportunities (a London-based digital asset hedge fund) and the Sui Foundation, features participation from institutional investors such as Galaxy Digital, Pantera Capital, and FalconX. Galaxy Asset Management will oversee the asset management role, while A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners acted as the sole placement agent [1].

The company’s board will be restructured to include Marius Barnett (Co-Founder of Karatage) as Chairman and Stephen Mackintosh (also of Karatage) as Chief Investment Officer. Dana Wagner, former general counsel at Square and current Coinbase Custody board member, will join as an independent director. The Sui Foundation’s involvement, including a negotiated purchase agreement for SUI tokens, positions Mill City as the sole publicly traded entity with direct treasury support from the Sui ecosystem. This collaboration aims to leverage Sui’s blockchain architecture—designed for scalability and AI workloads—to attract institutional-grade investors [1].

Stephen Mackintosh emphasized that Sui’s technical capabilities align with the growing demand for blockchain infrastructure capable of supporting mass adoption and AI integration. Christian Thompson of the Sui Foundation noted the network’s potential to enable real-world applications like stablecoins, gaming, and finance. The transaction, exempt from registration under Regulation D, requires a resale registration with the SEC, and the offering’s closing is expected by July 31, 2025, pending standard conditions [1].

The move reflects a broader trend of institutional capital entering blockchain ecosystems, with Sui’s focus on speed and security differentiating it from competitors. By channeling the majority of proceeds into SUI, Mill City signals confidence in the blockchain’s long-term viability and its ability to serve as a reserve asset. However, the company retains its short-term lending business, ensuring continuity in its operational model while pivoting toward crypto-driven growth. This dual strategy balances immediate liquidity needs with speculative exposure to Sui’s ecosystem expansion [1].

Source: [1] [Mill City Ventures III, Ltd. Announces $450,000,000 Private Placement to Initiate Sui Treasury Strategy] (https://cryptobriefing.com/mill-city-ventures-iii-ltd-announces-450000000-private-placement-to-initiate-sui-treasury-strategy/)