VivoPower International joins crypto treasury trend, plans to raise $121 million to buy XRP
The US Securities and Exchange Commission also started reviewing a proposed spot XRP exchange-traded fund.
Energy firm VivoPower announced a private capital raise of about $121 million to deploy an XRP-focused digital asset treasury strategy, just as the US Securities and Exchange Commission started reviewing a proposed spot XRP ETF.
Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Abdulaziz Al Saud, who is also the chairman of Eleventh Holding Company, led the private offering and said the embrace of a digital asset treasury model was influenced by meeting US President Donald Trump, according to a Wednesday SEC filing.
“Having met with President Trump and his leadership group during their recent visit to Saudi Arabia, we believe the timing is appropriate for digital assets and blockchain technology to be rolled out in the Kingdom,” Al Saud said in the SEC filing and press release.
XRP, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, at $133.8 billion, is largely flat today, while shares of VivoPower have dropped 12% on the news, though the stock was on a run-up in the past week and is still up 22% from seven days ago.
Adam Traidman, former Ripple board member, participated in the investment offering and has also joined VivoPower’s board of advisors as chairman. The investment offering will close if VivoPower’s shareholders approve it at a shareholder meeting, which is expected to occur on June 18.
“The Company intends to use the majority of the funds raised to accumulate XRP and establish its XRP-focused treasury operations, as well as to contribute and invest in the XRPL DeFi ecosystem,” the SEC filing said.
VivoPower’s move is part of a broader trend of publicly traded companies turning to crypto treasury strategies, championed by Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which has been acquiring bitcoin since 2020. While the “pivot to bitcoin” may be losing its luster, altcoins are now having a moment in the reserve spotlight. SharpLink Gaming revealed plans this week to make ethereum its treasury reserve asset, while other companies like SOL Strategies, Upexi, and DeFi Development Corp have been focusing on scooping up more solana tokens.
VivoPower’s announcement comes after the SEC published its notice that it was reviewing the WisdomTree XRP Fund, a proposed spot XRP ETF that, if approved, would be the first XRP ETF in the US.
The agency is currently seeking public comments on whether the proposed ETF “is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts,” according to a Tuesday release. A spot XRP ETF would enable investors to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency through traditional brokerage accounts without directly owning the digital asset. As for which crypto will get the next spot ETF, it looks like it’s down to XRP, which Kaiko Research has picked as the winner, or solana or litecoin, which Bloomberg picked as the two most likely to be approved next.
