Motorcycle Maker Volcon to Buy ~$476 Million in Bitcoin

American electric vehicle manufacturer Volcon has announced a bold pivot to cryptocurrency: it plans to spend roughly $476 million to purchase Bitcoin for its corporate treasury. The Texas-based e-motorcycle and off-road vehicle maker raised $500 million in a private stock sale, and a whopping 95% of that (~$475 million) will be used to acquire Bitcoin. The news sent Volcon’s stock price soaring by over 130% in a single day, as investors reacted to the company’s new strategy of adopting Bitcoin as a primary reserve asset. This move places Volcon among a growing list of companies investing significant portions of their cash into crypto, echoing high-profile pioneers like MicroStrategy.

Volcon’s $500M Bitcoin Treasury Plan

Volcon’s plan centers on using funds from a massive private placement to build a Bitcoin treasury. The company agreed to sell about 50.14 million shares at $10 each to raise $500 million in fresh capital. According to the announcement, 95% of the proceeds will go into buying Bitcoin, which works out to roughly $475–$480 million worth of BTC at current prices. This will effectively make Bitcoin Volcon’s primary treasury reserve asset. Volcon’s co-CEO, John Kim, explained the rationale, saying that in an era of “accelerating monetary debasement,” holding Bitcoin is a strategic move to safeguard shareholder value and align the company with a digital, inflation-resistant future. In other words, Volcon’s management believes Bitcoin’s fixed supply and growing adoption make it a better long-term store of value than holding cash, especially as inflation erodes fiat currency value.

To execute this strategy, Volcon is partnering with institutional crypto firms. The private placement was led by Empery Asset Management, and other participants include notable crypto investors (FalconX, Pantera Capital, and more). Volcon also reportedly teamed up with Gemini Nustar LLC to help implement the Bitcoin purchasing strategy. This indicates that Volcon is working with experienced crypto custodians and brokers to manage its large Bitcoin buys securely.

Stock Surge and Industry Context

The market’s reaction to Volcon’s announcement was swift and dramatic: Volcon’s stock price rocketed up about 135% on the day of the news. Investors appear to view the Bitcoin plan as a potential boost to Volcon’s fortunes. Prior to this, the company’s stock had been struggling (down over 35% year-to-date and with significant losses on the books in 2024). By embracing Bitcoin, Volcon may be hoping to emulate the stock-market success seen by companies like MicroStrategy, which saw its stock rise as it accumulated BTC. Indeed, Volcon explicitly joins “a growing number of firms building BTC treasuries as a major component of their corporate strategies”. This trend was popularized by MicroStrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor starting in 2020 – MicroStrategy now holds tens of thousands of Bitcoin (worth billions of dollars) and inspired other public companies to do the same.

Volcon’s pivot can also be viewed in light of its core business challenges. As an EV startup focusing on off-road bikes and vehicles, Volcon has faced financial headwinds (over $45 million net loss in 2024). Holding Bitcoin could potentially fortify its balance sheet if BTC appreciates, and the positive market sentiment from crypto-aligned investors provides a short-term stock boost. However, it’s not without risk: Volcon is effectively leveraging its future on a volatile asset. Large swings in Bitcoin’s price will directly affect the company’s financial health.

Corporate Bitcoin Adoption: A Broader Trend

Volcon’s move underscores a broader corporate adoption of cryptocurrency as a treasury asset. More than 140 companies worldwide have added Bitcoin to their balance sheets, collectively holding over $100 billion worth of BTC. These range from fintech firms to business intelligence companies and now even an electric vehicle manufacturer. Volcon’s bet is one of the largest relative to its size – raising half a billion dollars primarily for crypto purchase is a notable strategic shift. It reflects confidence that Bitcoin’s long-term upside outweighs its short-term volatility.

Notably, Volcon isn’t the only firm pivoting in this way recently. SharpLink Gaming, a marketing and iGaming company, for example, has been buying Ethereum for its treasury, becoming the largest corporate ETH holder (as discussed in a later article). The wave of crypto treasury strategies suggests that some corporate leaders view leading cryptocurrencies as a hedge against inflation and a means to potentially boost sagging stock performance. As one analysis put it, these companies may be “seeking to lift [their] sagging stock” through association with crypto’s growth trajectory.

Conclusion: Volcon’s plan to purchase roughly $476 million in Bitcoin is a bold intersection of the automotive and crypto industries. It highlights both the optimism around Bitcoin as “digital gold” and the extent companies will go to innovate their financial strategy. Going forward, investors and analysts will be watching Volcon’s experiment closely: if Bitcoin’s value climbs, Volcon could reap significant rewards, but if the crypto market falters, the company’s core EV business will be under added strain. For now, the announcement has placed Volcon squarely on the map of corporate crypto adopters, alongside names like MicroStrategy and Tesla, signaling growing mainstream acceptance of Bitcoin in corporate finance.