Shares of electric vehicle maker Volcon Inc ( VLCN ) are trading sharply higher Thursday morning after the company revealed it has secured over $500 million in a private placement and will pivot its corporate treasury strategy to focus on Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC).

What To Know: Volcon ( VLCN ) entered into agreements with institutional investors to sell approximately 50.1 million shares of common stock at $10.00 per share. The financing was led by Empery Asset Management and saw participation from prominent crypto venture firms, including FalcolnX, Pantera and Borderless.

In a major strategic shift, Volcon ( VLCN ) intends to use at least 95% of the gross proceeds to acquire Bitcoin, establishing the cryptocurrency as its primary treasury reserve asset. “In an era of accelerating monetary debasement, holding Bitcoin on our balance sheet represents a strategic move to safeguard shareholder value,” stated co-CEO John Kim.

To execute this plan, Volcon ( VLCN ) has partnered with Gemini Nustar LLC for digital asset services and appointed four new members to its board of directors, including Ryan Lane from lead investor Empery. The private placement, with Clear Street LLC as lead placement agent, is expected to close on or about July 21.

Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, VLCN shares are trading higher by 246.2% to $33.63 Thursday morning. The stock has a 52-week high of $218.88 and a 52-week low of $4.40.

Read Also: Bitcoin Holds Steady As Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin Push Higher

How To Buy VLCN 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 Volcon’s case, it is in the Consumer Discretionary 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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