Méliuz sent its shares tumbling over 8% Friday after the Brazilian fintech announced a primary share offering aimed at raising up to 450 million reais ($78.6 million) to buy more Bitcoin.
The cashback and coupon company, which trades on Brazil's B3 exchange under the ticker CASH3, initially plans to offer 17 million common shares to raise 150 million reais ($26.2 million). The company even left room to expand the offering by up to 200%, potentially tripling the amount if demand materializes.
The announcement marks the latest chapter in Méliuz's transformation from a traditional fintech into what it calls Brazil's first Bitcoin treasury company. Since March, when the company announced a $4.13 million purchase, Méliuz has accumulated 320.2 BTC worth approximately $33.55 million at current prices.
Meliuz was one of the first Brazilian fintechs to offer crypto exposure to its clients. This new step is just part of a strategy to increase its involvement with the crypto 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. Méliuz's stock has swung wildly over the past year—up around 217% overall since starting 2025 at around 2.53 reais per share, and climbing all the way to a multi-year high at around 11 reais. Friday's drop brought the price to 8.13 reais, with trading volume hitting 6.51 million shares as investors digested the dilution news.
Ray Nasser, head of the Latin America arm of trading firm BlockFills, previously told Decrypt that the company was copying Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) to help get shareholders more value for 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 hype."
The comparison to MicroStrategy isn't accidental. The U.S. software firm pioneered the Bitcoin treasury playbook, accumulating 580,250 BTC—over $60 billion worth of the cryptocurrency—through repeated capital raises. During bull runs, MicroStrategy's stock has outperformed Bitcoin itself, creating what some call a "Bitcoin proxy" for traditional investors.
But Méliuz operates at a different scale. The company's market cap hovers around 305 million reais ($53.8 million), a fraction of its 9 billion reais peak after going public in 2020.
Pricing is set for June 12 on the Méliuz offering, with trading of new shares beginning June 16. The company scheduled two priority subscription periods for existing shareholders—the first beginning June 4 after a June 3 cutoff date, and the second ending June 10 after a June 9 cutoff—giving them first dibs on the new shares.
Méliuz's Bitcoin holdings currently show a modest 3% profit according to Bitcoin Treasuries, with an average purchase price of $101,575 per coin. The company paid slightly above market rate for its initial 45.72 BTC purchase in March, buying at an average of $90,926 when prices were climbing.
"This is a shift away from its core business, but its stock has seen the hype and benefits. It's working out for them," Nasser told Decrypt about the strategy pivot.
Founded in 2011, Méliuz 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.
The company's credit card expanded its financial services footprint beyond simple shopping rewards, and pioneered the “cryptoback” feature, letting users obtain cashback in BTC for their purchases. That feature is no longer available.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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