Fold sells $45M in bitcoin, repays loan, funds growth

Fold Holdings sold roughly $45 million in bitcoin, about 634 BTC at an average price of $71,000 per coin, the company disclosed in a Wednesday filing. Fold applied $20 million of the proceeds to retire a bitcoin-collateralized loan in full and set aside $25 million for growth initiatives.

Repaying the loan removes the collateralized debt and the monthly cash interest payments tied to it, which the company expects will improve near-term cash flow. Fold also noted its revolving credit facility remains available and that management may monetize additional bitcoin holdings if it determines that to be the best use of capital.

Fold plans to use the $25 million in unrestricted cash to scale its consumer and enterprise platforms. The company identified its recently launched Bitcoin Credit Card as the primary growth vehicle and said the funds will support a larger cardholder base and bring financing partners online for its products.

Chairman and CEO Will Reeves wrote in the filing: “We have reduced financing risk, strengthened our balance sheet, and ensured that short-term market volatility cannot stand in the way of executing our roadmap.”

Fold's disclosed average sale price of $71,000 per bitcoin was above bitcoin's trading level near $61,200 at the time of the filing. The disclosure implies the company liquidated about 634 BTC; public bitcoin holdings data listed Fold at roughly 826 BTC before the sale and have not yet reflected the transaction.

Investors pushed Fold's stock sharply higher after the filing. Shares rose as much as 160% on the Nasdaq, recovering from a 52-week low of $0.93 reached nine days earlier, company-cited market data show.

The transaction places Fold among a small number of public companies that have trimmed corporate bitcoin holdings recently. One public holder sold about 284 BTC in March for roughly $20 million, and another sold 32 BTC between May 26 and May 31.

Fold continues to hold bitcoin on its balance sheet and retains the option to monetize additional holdings if management concludes that would best serve shareholders.