TechFlow, August 11 — Story, an AI-native infrastructure and programmable IP blockchain, announced a joint $360 million $IP token reserve program with Heritage Distilling (NASDAQ: CASK), a Nasdaq-listed company. The initiative is backed by leading institutions including a16z crypto, Selini Capital, Amber Group, Arrington Capital, dao5, and Hashed.
Heritage will receive 52.4 million $IP tokens with long-term lock-up; the Story Foundation will fully repurchase an equivalent amount of $IP within 90 days using $82 million, potentially providing strong market support.
This transaction closely resembles the case of BitMine, whose stock surged nearly 30-fold within days after announcing its Ethereum-based Digital Asset Reserve (DAT) strategy. Notably, this marks a16z's first participation in a listed company’s digital asset strategic allocation, and represents the lowest-market-cap Nasdaq-listed company to date adopting a digital asset reserve strategy, signaling significant potential for future value creation.
Story’s native token $IP was listed last Friday on Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Last month, Grayscale, the world’s largest digital asset manager, included $IP in its “Top 20 Cryptos to Watch” list and launched the “Grayscale Story Trust,” offering institutional investors direct access to $IP. Over the past 30 days, $IP has risen 135.9%, currently trading at $6.77.
