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Equity

Publicly-Listed AMTD Group Wants Investors’ Crypto in Equity Swap Program

by admin August 20, 2025

In brief

The group said the program aims to diversify its business, believing it would serve as a bridge between crypto and the NYSE.
AMTD plans to use their media, hospitality, and education assets to offer asset-allocation support, VIP experiences, and financial education.
All three are micro to small-cap companies, with the largest running at about $509 million.

On Tuesday, three affiliated NYSE-listed companies under AMTD Group proposed a crypto-for-stock conversion program that would let holders swap Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, Binance’s BNB, and USDC for newly issued shares under the exchange.

AMTD IDEA (AMTD), AMTD Digital (HKD), and The Generation Essentials Group (TGE) formed the program with pricing that would be set by mutual agreement at prevailing market values, and allocations could be split across the three issuers.

Framing the plan as a “conduit and effective means” for portfolio diversification, the group said the issuances would “serve as a bridge connecting the world of crypto assets with one of the world’s leading stock exchanges.”

To flesh out what it touts as “adjacent offerings,” the group points to its media, hospitality, and education footprint as the delivery base.

Headquartered in France with presence in Singapore, AMTD runs digital media, marketing, investments, and hospitality/VIP services, while TGE owns L’Officiel, a French fashion magazine, and The Art Newspaper. It also operates entertainment projects and premium properties.

The group claims these assets will be used to help crypto holders “facilitate and better their experiences,” packaging asset-allocation support, leisure, and VIP experiences, as well as financial education.

The proposal also includes American depositary shares, which are U.S.-traded shares issued by a depositary bank that represent a specified number of a foreign issuer’s ordinary shares, among the securities that could be issued to crypto holders looking to convert their assets.

It’s worth noting that, by market capitalization size, the three are micro to small-cap issuers. AMTD has about $176 million, HKD has roughly $509 million, and TGE has $161 million in market size, per their respective data dashboards on Google Finance.

Of the three, only AMTD’s stock closed positively at 1.9%, with the other two down by 3.5% and 6.2% respectively, following the announcement.

The announcement disclosed no launch timeline, geography, investor eligibility, issuance caps, lockups, KYC or custody arrangements, or settlement mechanics, and stated it was not an offer or solicitation.

Decrypt reached out to the group for comment on whether the issuances would be registered, conducted as private placements, or offshore transactions, and whether U.S. persons would be eligible.

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August 20, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Softbank reportedly considered buying Intel’s foundry division outright before investing $2 billion into the company as equity

by admin August 20, 2025

SoftBank today announced its intent to purchase a historic $2 billion worth of Intel shares—a roughly 2% stake—making it one of the largest shareholders of the American chipmaker. However, the Financial Times reports that just days before the deal was inked, Softbank actually considered buying Intel’s foundry division outright.

This follows another unprecedented report that the White House is considering a 10% stake in Intel, utilizing grants from the CHIPS Act and converting them into equity.

Intel received that CHIPS Act money on the promise of never spinning off the fabs the funds directly impacted, as they serve an important geopolitical role in the race for bleeding-edge semiconductors. Intel is one of the last companies in the cutting-edge process race with TSMC, whose roots in Taiwan have provoked long-simmering concerns about its vulnerability and the stability of leading-edge semiconductor supply in the event that China should invade the island in pursuit of reunification.

Metaplanet (3350) Raises $515M, Blockchain Group (ALTBG) Adds $4.8M in Concurrent BTC Treasury Equity Moves

by admin June 25, 2025

Metaplanet Inc (3350) and the Blockchain Group (ALTBG) both executed substantial equity capital raises as part of their initiatives to focus on bitcoin accumulation for treasury purposes.

Metaplanet announced the exercise of its 20th series of stock acquisition rights under the recently announced 555 Million Plan, raising 74.9 billion yen, ($515 million) in a single day. It issued 54 million new shares on Wednesday following the exercise of 540,000 stock acquisition rights, representing 29% of the total rights issued.

The issue is the first major capital injection under the plan and represents 10% of the full target. Metaplanet stock slumped as much as 15% before rallying strongly to close up 4%. CEO Simon Gerovich emphasized the strategic milestone with a post on X, highlighting the strong start to the program.

The Blockchain Group (ALTBG), for its part, announced a 4.1 million-euro ($4.8 million) capital increase through an at-the-market-type equity issuance agreement with TOBAM.

Shares in the Euronext Growth Paris-listed company were issued at an average price of 5.085 euros each. The capital raise aligns with the company’s strategy to increase the number of bitcoin per share on a fully diluted basis. The Blockchain Group currently holds 1,653 BTC and is the first of its kind in Europe pursuing such a model.

Blockchain Group shares were recently 3.7% lower at 4.785 euros.

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June 25, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Tokenized Assets ‘Expand Participation in Equity’ and Bring Wall Street On-Chain: Exodus

by admin June 21, 2025

The tokenization industry has gained momentum at breakneck speed.

New use cases are continually emerging, with Boston Consulting Group projecting that the total size of this nascent sector could reach $16 trillion by 2030.

Others believe it might take a little extra time. McKinsey recently forecast that the market capitalization of tokenized assets will hit $2 trillion by the end of the decade—and potentially $4 trillion in a bullish scenario. That would eclipse the current value of all cryptocurrencies and stablecoins in circulation.

“Blockchain technology has the ability to expand participation in equity markets,” Colin Closser, investor relations manager at Exodus, told Decrypt. The self-custodial crypto platform made headlines last year when it became the first U.S. company to tokenize its common stock on the Algorand blockchain.

The shares are now listed on the premier NYSE American stock exchange—and at the time, executives shared hopes that this would elevate the company’s corporate profile, all while supercharging liquidity.

“By virtue of Exodus trading on the NYSE American stock exchange, blockchain-based finance stands alongside America’s premier traditional markets, which reflects well on both systems,” Closser said.

Why tokenization?

Asset managers are drawn to tokenization because of the tangible benefits it brings. Whereas trades could only once take place during strict business hours and never on weekends, blockchains pave the way for 24/7 transactions. Settlement used to take up to two business days, but is now completed in minutes.

Tokenization also helps drive down the costs associated with issuing and trading equities by up to 50%—automating and streamlining backroom processes.

But one of the biggest benefits tokenization can bring regards liquidity, especially when it comes to assets once considered as difficult to buy and sell easily.

The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association recently argued that a rise in fractional ownership could also tear down barriers to entry, making fine wines and real estate more affordable for a broader cross-section of consumers.

Meanwhile, analysts at Citi believe that the financial sector is barely “scratching the surface” of tokenization’s use cases. Ryan Rugg, Head of Digital Assets for Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions, argued that the programmability achieved by smart contracts will prove to be especially transformative—supercharging productively by enabling payments to be released automatically whenever pre-agreed conditions are met.

Innovation in action

Looking forward, the potential use cases for tokenization extend far beyond stocks. Other asset classes that can benefit from this approach include bonds, commodities and a slew of other alternative investments. All of this will help expand participation in equity markets.

“When U.S. regulations allow on-chain stock trading to flourish, blockchain’s technological underpinnings will upgrade equity markets with 24/7 trading and near-instant settlement,” Closser told Decrypt. “These features are expected by blockchain users, who could in turn gain access to the world of equity ownership.”

“At Exodus, we’ve always harnessed the power of blockchain to democratize finance for consumers,” he added, noting that, “Exodus’ pioneering Common Stock Token on Algorand, followed by Exodus’ uplisting to the NYSE American, is no exception.”

Exodus marked a milestone in January when it rang the NYSE opening bell—symbolizing how “crypto and traditional markets are coming together to create a more open, transparent and lasting financial system,” Closser said.

Of course, challenges lie ahead in the ongoing push to take tokenization mainstream. Regulatory clarity is a key sticking point, though progress is being made, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force hosting a roundtable last month to discuss the technical standards and safeguards needed for this industry to flourish.

For this sector to achieve its full potential, careful thought also needs to be paid to infrastructure, with transactions taking place on blockchains that can scale in line with institutional demand.

Recent State Street research indicated that 70% of respondents to a recent poll are willing to transfer assets between traditional custodial environments and tokenized platforms. Not only does this show there’s healthy demand, said State Street’s analysts—it’s a sign that digital and traditional assets will co-exist “for years to come.”

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June 21, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

How Private Equity Killed the American Dream

by admin June 17, 2025

In her new book, Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream, journalist and WIRED alum Megan Greenwell chronicles the devastating impacts of one of the most powerful yet poorly understood forces in modern American capitalism. Flush with cash, largely unregulated, and relentlessly focused on profit, private equity firms have quietly reshaped the US economy, taking over large chunks of industries ranging from health care to retail—often leaving financial ruin in their wake.

Twelve million people in the US now work for companies owned by private equity, Greenwell writes, or about 8 percent of the total employed population. Her book focuses on the stories of four of these individuals, including a Toys “R” Us supervisor who loses the best job she ever had and a Wyoming doctor who watches his rural hospital cut essential services. Their collective experiences are a damning account of how innovation is being replaced by financial engineering and the ways that shift is being paid for by everyone except those at the top.

In a review of Bad Company for Bloomberg, a longtime private equity executive accused Greenwell of seeking out sad stories with inevitably “sad endings.” But the characters Greenwell selected don’t just sit back and watch as private equity devastates their communities. The book is a portrait of not only how the American dream is being eroded but also the creative tactics people are using to fight back.

Greenwell spoke to WIRED late last month about what private equity is and isn’t, how it has transformed different industries, and what workers are doing to reclaim their power.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

WIRED: What is private equity? How is the business model different from, say, venture capital?

Megan Greenwell: People confuse private equity and venture capital all the time, but it’s totally reasonable that normal people don’t understand the difference. Basically, the easiest way to explain the difference is that venture capital firms invest money, usually in startups. They’re essentially taking a stake in the company and expecting some sort of returns over time. They’re also generally playing a significantly longer game than private equity.

But the way private equity works, especially with leveraged buyouts, which is what I focus on in the book, is they’re buying companies outright. In venture capital, you put your money in, you’re entrusting it to a CEO, and you probably have a board seat. But in the leveraged buyout model, the private equity firm really is the owner and controlling decider of the portfolio company.

How do private equity firms define success? What kinds of companies or businesses are attractive to them?

In venture capital, VCs are evaluating whether to make a deal based solely on whether they think that company is going to become successful. They are looking for unicorns. Is this company going to be the next Uber? Private equity is looking to make money off of companies in ways that don’t actually require the company itself to make money. That is like the biggest thing.

So it’s less of a gamble.

It is very hard for private equity firms to lose money on deals. They’re getting a 2 percent management fee, even if they’re running the company into the ground. They’re also able to pull off all these tricks, like selling off the company’s real estate and then charging the company rent on the same land it used to own. When private equity firms take out loans to buy companies, the debt from those loans is assigned not to the private equity firm but to the portfolio company.

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June 17, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

Private Equity Giant Apollo Global Private Credit Fund Set for Tokenization on Solana (SOL)

by admin May 20, 2025

A tokenized version of a major private credit fund managed by Apollo will arrive on Solana’s

decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, bringing traditional financial instruments closer to the fast-growing network.

The launch, orchestrated by lending platform Kamino Finance with support from tokenization specialist Securitize and DeFi risk advisor Steakhouse Financial, aims to make the Apollo’s Diversified Credit Securitize Fund (ACRED) token the first of its kind to be available for on-chain borrowing and leverage on Solana. The token’s debut is pending on completing an audit, Kamino said.

The ACRED token, launched in January, offers exposure to Apollo’s private credit strategies and is issued under Securitize’s regulated token framework. ACRED will also be the first token on Solana using Securitize’s sToken standard, with more assets expected to follow later, Securitize said.

The product underscores a growing appetite in crypto for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. RWAs—traditional instruments such as funds, bonds or real estate—are being brought onto blockchain rails to reduce friction in investing, improve access and transparency, and allow for programmable use in DeFi protocols. In practice, this means investors can use RWAs as collateral to borrow against, yield farming, or plug into automated investment strategies.

“The value of tokenization really comes into play when these assets are integrated into DeFi, and new products and strategies are developed around them,” says Reid Simon, head of DeFi and credit solutions at Securitize.

Despite Solana’s fast-growing DeFi market, RWAs are yet to take off on the chain. According to RWA.xyz, Solana hosts $330 million worth of RWAs, small compared to the network’s nearly $9 billion DeFi market size. It’s also trailing rival layer-1 network Ethereum’s $7 billion real-world asset market. But with large players in tokenization stepping in, backers of the launch see this as a tipping point.

“Solana has experienced explosive consumer growth in recent years, but below the surface we are seeing enormous interest from institutions and asset issuers,” said Marius Ciubotariu, co-founder at Kamino, “Finally, the industry is in a position to not only bring these assets on-chain, but to provide genuine use-cases.”

Through Kamino’s Multiply product, users will be able to leverage ACRED for yield strategies—automatically looping the asset to increase exposure while managing collateral and borrow levels through Solana-native smart contracts. That’s a similar offering to what Gauntlet introduced on Polygon in late April.

“Building on off-chain credit assets in a composable way is the sort of long-term investment we believe can help catalyze further growth of DeFi in Solana,” said adcv, co-founder of Steakhouse Financial.

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May 20, 2025 0 comments