Atai Life Sciences, a biopharmaceutical firm that trades on the Nasdaq as ATAI, is the most recent publicly traded firm to announce plans to launch a Bitcoin treasury technique.
The agency, which focuses on the therapy of psychological well being issues, introduced plans Thursday to amass $5 million value of Bitcoin as a place to begin.
“All of Bitcoin’s properties and its potential… make it a obligatory a part of any treasury technique, particularly for biotech firms who’re disproportionately vulnerable to inflation-impacting money reserves,” wrote the agency’s founder, Christian Angermayer.
Angermayer outlined valuation stress and money reserve erosion as two particular causes {that a} Bitcoin treasury could also be particularly helpful to biotech firms like his, suggesting that the character of financing within the business “exposes biotech corporations to heightened monetary dangers in sure macroeconomic environments.”
The corporate filed an 8-Okay with the U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee earlier Thursday, and indicated that it plans to deploy $5 million into Bitcoin over the following few weeks to seed its treasury. At in the present day’s costs, $5 million would internet the corporate round 59.23 BTC.
“Whereas Bitcoin as a long-term retailer of worth is just not unsure for me, we should additionally acknowledge that Bitcoin can, and sure will, have short-term worth fluctuations,” wrote the agency’s founder.
“Subsequently, Atai has taken the prudent choice to carry ample money (principally USD), short-term securities, and public fairness holdings,” he continued. “Atai will make investments an preliminary place of $5 million in Bitcoin, which isn’t anticipated to influence drug growth timelines or present operational runway.”
Shares of ATAI are down greater than 1% in the present day and now commerce at $1.37, about 93% beneath their all-time excessive worth of $19.45 from 5 years in the past.
Angermayer additional famous that he plans to put in writing a put up within the coming days outlining the philosophical alignment between psychedelics and Bitcoin.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
