Shares of Mill City Ventures III Ltd ( MCVT ) are surging Monday morning after the specialty finance company announced a $450 million private placement, signaling a pivot into the digital asset space. Here’s what investors need to know.

What To Know: The company entered into agreements to sell 83,025,830 shares of common stock at $5.42 per share. The deal was led by London-based hedge fund Karatage Opportunities and the Sui Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing the Sui network

The company intends to use approximately 98% of the net proceeds to acquire SUI, the native cryptocurrency of the Sui blockchain, establishing it as its primary treasury reserve asset. This move effectively transforms MCVT into one of the only publicly-traded, foundation-supported crypto treasury strategies available to investors.

To lead the new strategy, Karatage co-founder Marius Barnett will be appointed Chairman of the Board, and co-founder Stephen Mackintosh will become Chief Investment Officer.

Stephen Mackintosh highlighted the timing, stating, “We’re launching at a pivotal moment when both institutional crypto and AI are reaching critical mass.” The offering is expected to close around July 31.

Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, MCVT shares are trading higher by 14.1% to $6.73 Monday morning. The stock has a 52-week high of $8.01 and a 52-week low of $1.17.

Read Also: PayPal Rolls Out New Crypto Feature: Here’s Why You Should Care

How To Buy MCVT Stock

Besides going to a brokerage platform to purchase a share – or fractional share – of stock, you can also gain access to shares either by buying an exchange traded fund (ETF) that holds the stock itself, or by allocating yourself to a strategy in your 401(k) that would seek to acquire shares in a mutual fund or other instrument.

For example, in Mill City Ventures III’s case, it is in the Financials sector. An ETF will likely hold shares in many liquid and large companies that help track that sector, allowing an investor to gain exposure to the trends within that segment.

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