Brazil's Méliuz offers stocks to add more Bitcoin to treasury

Brazilian firm Méliuz has announced a share offering to fund the purchase of additional Bitcoin for its treasury. According to the firm, it plans to raise 450 million reais (about $78 million) to purchase the leading digital asset, a move that has caused its shares to tumble over 8%.

Méliuz, which trades in the cashback and coupon business, trades on the B3 exchange in Brazil under the ticker CASH3. The company initially plans to offer about 17 million common shares to raise around 150 million reais (approximately $26.2 million).

The company also left enough space to expand the offering by up to 200%, which could see it triple the amount if demand goes as planned.

Méliuz embraces Bitcoin amid its transformation

The latest announcement marks a new chapter in the company’s transformation, moving from a traditional fintech to what can be described as the first Bitcoin treasury company in Brazil.

Since March, when the company made a $4.13 million Bitcoin purchase, Méliuz has accumulated around 320.2 BTC, currently worth $33.55 million. It also became one of the first fintech companies in Brazil to offer crypto exposure to its clients, with this new step a way to increase its involvement in the industry.

“Rather than just allocating part of its cash to Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation or currency devaluation, the company has repositioned its purpose to act by maximizing the amount of Bitcoin per share,” the company said in a previous statement about its strategy shift.

Markets appear to have priced in the news, with the company’s stock swinging wildly over the past year. The stock is up 217% since the beginning of 2025 at around 2.53 reais per share, climbing to a high of around 11 reais. The recent drop saw the price hit 8.13 reais, with trading volume hitting 6.51 million shares.

According to Ray Nasser, the head of the Latin America branch of trading firm BlockFills, Méliuz has been adopting the same strategy as Michael Saylor-owned Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy). He mentioned that the move has been able to help its shareholders get better value for their money.

“The company lost its relevance over the years, and its stock price went down,” he said. “Although it made a turnaround in 2024, it’s doing what Strategy is doing now, it’s riding the hype.”

Comparison to Strategy and Bitcoin adoption

The firm has earned the compliment of being compared to United States firm, Strategy over the last few years. Strategy kickstarted the big-scale Bitcoin adoption in the United States, with the firm now holding about 580,250 Bitcoins, worth over $60 billion, using several capital raises.

During the bull run, the company’s stock outperformed Bitcoin itself, creating what some analysts called a “Bitcoin proxy” for investors.

But Méliuz carries out its operation differently, with the company’s market cap hovering around 305 million reais ($53.8 million), a fraction of its 9 billion reais peak after it went public in 2020. Meanwhile, the company has set its pricing for June 12, with trading of the new shares beginning on June 16.

The company has scheduled two priority subscription periods for existing shareholders, with the first expected to start on June 4 after a June 3 cutoff date, and the second expected to end on June 10, after a June 9 cutoff date, allowing them to own the new shares first.

The company was founded in 2011 and has built its business on cashback rewards and discount coupons, partnering with over 1,000 brands and accumulating 35 million registered users. Méliuz started offering Bitcoin exposure to clients back in 2022 when PayPal and other companies showed positive results experimenting with crypto purchases.

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