A $12 million Shanghai insurer just took in 2,380 Bitcoin for stock

Zhibao Technology closed a $154.7 million share sale on August 17, paid for entirely in Bitcoin by a group of non-U.S. investors.

The Nasdaq listed Shanghai insurance technology firm was paid 2,380 bitcoins. Zhibao’s stock was recently trading for less than a dollar and it received a Nasdaq deficiency notice.

2,380 Bitcoin went straight to a company wallet at $65K a coin

Zhibao said in a Form 6-K that it changed the underlying Securities Purchase Agreement and completed the transaction the same day.

Investors sent 2,380 Bitcoin to a specific company wallet to pay the full cost of $154.7 million. That was based on a reference rate of $65,000 per coin, connected to where Bitcoin was trading on July 30.

Buyers purchased 442 million units at $0.35 each. Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and a two year warrant.

According to the filing, 395,678,152 units were issued at closing with the remaining 46,321,848 to be issued upon shareholder approval of a larger authorized share count, with no additional payment due.

Zhibao announced a non-binding term sheet on July 22. As Cryptopolitan reported then, the earlier plan had Joyertech and Information OPC subscribe to a PIPE of around 3,500 Bitcoin, or ~$220 million, and name a majority of the board after the deal had closed.

Zhibao’s existing team was to keep running the legacy insurance business until a “separation, disposition, or other restructuring,” the term sheet said.

The actual close was smaller at 2,380 coins and $154.7 million. The 6-K says the money came from a syndicate of non-U.S. investors whose identities were not disclosed and was signed by Zhibao chief executive Jinmei Guo Hellstroem.

Director Botao Ma called it “one of the most transformational moments” in the firm’s decade long history. He said the new backers bring crypto expertise that Zhibao can use to expand its AI powered insurance products.

Nasdaq gave Zhibao until January 2027, to clear $1

Zhibao’s market cap was around $12 million to $15 million this summer, Cryptopolitan reported. The Bitcoin coming in was worth around fifteen times the total equity value at July figures.

Zhibao, trading under ticker ZBAO, says it is the first company in China to operate an embedded “2B2C” digital-insurance model and launched the country’s first digital insurance brokerage platform in 2020.

ZBAO shares closed below $1 from May 27 to July 9 and Nasdaq sent the company a minimum bid-price deficiency notice July 15.

Zhibao must come back into compliance by January 6, 2027. The company had previously disclosed “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern in SEC filings, citing accumulated deficits and cash outflows.

Zhibao has an all crypto structure. In contrast, Strategy, the company that wrote the playbook, has paused its weekly buys. Metaplanet of Japan is putting 2,100 Bitcoin, worth about $132 million, into a U.S. treasury vehicle.

About 40% of the top 100 Bitcoin treasury companies now trade below the net asset value of their coins, Cryptopolitan reported.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.