Heritage Distilling Backs $340 Million IP Treasury Strategy

- Heritage Distilling announces $340 million treasury move, adopting the IP token as its primary asset. - The a16z crypto-backed strategy marks a first for a publicly traded company. On August 11, 2025, Heritage Distilling Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: CASK) announced it will become the first publicly traded company to adopt the IP token as its primary treasury reserve asset. This groundbreaking $340 million strategy, backed by leading investors including a16z crypto and the Story Foundation, aims to leverage tokenized intellectual property for corporate financial innovation. According to reports from Business Wire, Investing.com, and The Block on August 11, a $220 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal anchors the $340 million plan. As part of the strategy, the Story Foundation and its partners will provide a financing package that includes $100 million in cash and $120 million in IP tokens, with the transaction expected to finalize by August 13, 2025. Heritage will invest $82 million of the PIPE proceeds to acquire approximately 52.5 million IP tokens from the Story Foundation at a fixed price of $3.40 per token. Subsequently, the Story Foundation will use all net proceeds to repurchase IP tokens from the open market, planning to complete these repurchases within 90 days after the deal closes. This bold strategy aligns Heritage with the growing tokenized intellectual property economy. The initiative centers on the IP token, which is native to the Story blockchain, a Layer 1 network designed specifically to tokenize intellectual property. Moreover, Heritage’s move signals a broader trend of publicly traded firms adopting blockchain assets for modern treasury management. In addition to the treasury shift, Heritage is strengthening its leadership by appointing new board and advisory members with experience in cryptocurrency and technology. These changes complement the company’s new Cryptocurrency Treasury Reserve Policy and its plans for the future integration of crypto payment options into daily operations. According to market data on August 11, Story (IP) was trading at $6.485 as of 16:16 UTC, reflecting a 3.38% drop in its 24-hour trading volume.