Brazil fintech gets approval to become a Bitcoin treasury company

Méliuz’s executive chairman says his fintech firm has become Brazil’s first publicly-traded Bitcoin treasury company following shareholder approval, with the firm also announcing it bought $28.4 million worth of Bitcoin to add to its existing stack.

“Historic day! Our shareholders have approved, by a wide majority, the transformation of Méliuz into the first Bitcoin Treasury Company listed in Brazil,” Israel Salmen posted to X on May 15.

Salmen said the firm snapped up 274.52 Bitcoin (BTC) for an average purchase price of $103,604, achieving a BTC yield of 600%.

Méliuz now holds 320.3 Bitcoin, worth a little over $33 million, with the latest purchase adding to the Brazilian fintech firm’s first purchase of 45.73 Bitcoin on March 6.

Brazil fintech gets approval to become a Bitcoin treasury company

Details of Méliuz’s latest Bitcoin purchase. Source: Israel Salmen

In a May 15 statement, Méliuz said it would accumulate Bitcoin in an “accretive way” for shareholders using a range of financial instruments.

“Rather than just allocating part of its cash to Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation or currency devaluation, the Company has repositioned its purpose to act by maximizing the amount of Bitcoin per share.”

According to Salmen, Méliuz is the first Bitcoin treasury company in Latin America because the planned Bitcoin investments are now part of its “business strategy.”

BitcoinTreasuries.NET data shows that e-commerce platform MercadoLibre holds more, with over 570 Bitcoin, worth $59.2 million, after its latest purchase of 157.7 Bitcoin on March 31.

Méliuz has been one of Brazil’s top-performing stocks of late

Méliuz (CASH3.SA) has been one of the best-performing stocks on the Brasil Bolsa Balcão since the firm announced its first Bitcoin purchase on March 6, increasing more than 117% since then, according to Google Finance data.

Méliuz’s market cap now sits at 727.9 Brazilian real, or more than $128 million.

The fintech firm is well-known for its cashback program and serves over 30 million users across Brazil.