Mill City’s Crypto Bet: $450M on Sui—Will It Pay Off? 💸🚀

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Oh, so they’re not just a regular bank anymore! Mill City Ventures III just dropped a cool $450 million on crypto—because who needs actual customers when you can bet on Sui? 🎩💸

The non-bank lender and specialty finance company announced on Monday that it has raised approximately $450 million by selling 83 million shares to institutional investors. Because nothing says “trust” like a bunch of guys in suits buying tokens. 🧢📈

The offering includes investment from Pantera Capital, Electric Capital, ParaFi Capital, Arrington Capital, FalconX and other venture firms. Galaxy Asset Management will serve as the treasury asset manager. Because nothing says “safe” like a company named after a space opera. 🌌

The firm plans to use 98% of the proceeds to acquire Sui (SUI) tokens, the native cryptocurrency of the layer-1 Sui blockchain, as its primary treasury asset, while maintaining 2% for its existing short-term lending business. 2%? That’s enough for a coffee fund, right? ☕

Mill City claims that this is an “industry-first” relationship with the Sui Foundation and the first public company SUI treasury. Because nothing says “innovation” like a blockchain that’s still figuring out its own website. 🧠⚡

Why invest in Sui? 🤔

Commenting on why Sui was selected for the firm’s pivot to crypto, incoming chief investment officer Stephen Mackintosh said it was at a time when “crypto and AI are reaching critical mass.” Because nothing says “critical mass” like a token that’s 27% off its all-time high. 📉

“We believe that Sui is well-positioned for mass adoption with the speed and efficiency institutions require for crypto at scale, plus the technical architecture capable of supporting AI workloads while maintaining security and decentralization,” he added. Because nothing says “security” like a blockchain that’s 11% lower today. 🔐

“The future belongs to crypto, AI, and stablecoins — and they all need infrastructure that can handle real scale. That’s Sui,” said Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder and chief product officer of Mysten Labs, the backers of the Sui blockchain. Because nothing says “real scale” like a token that’s still in beta. 🚀

In February, Sui Foundation managing director Christian Thompson told CryptoMoon that he saw opportunities with the convergence of technologies, such as AI agents integrated into blockchains. Because nothing says “convergence” like a blockchain that’s still learning to count. 🤖

Sui DeFi surges 📈

In addition to Sui’s AI focus, the ecosystem has also seen a surge in decentralized finance activity. Onchain value hit an all-time high of $2.22 billion over the weekend, following an increase of almost 400% since July 2024, according to DefiLlama. Because nothing says “surge” like a number that makes your head spin. 🌀

On Sunday, asset manager 21Shares highlighted Sui’s top DeFi protocols: Suilend, NAVI, and Haedal, which had $1.7 billion TVL between them after significant gains over the past month. Because nothing says “significant gains” like a protocol that’s still in alpha. 📊

SUI price dips 📉

There has been no positive reaction to the treasury news on spot markets, with the price of SUI tanking 11% over the past 24 hours, in line with a broader crypto market retreat, particularly for altcoins. Because nothing says “market retreat” like a token that’s still trying to find its footing. 🚪

The blockchain token hit an all-time high of $5.35 in January but has retreated 27% since then. Because nothing says “retreat” like a price that’s still higher than it was last week. 📈

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2025-07-29 08:04