First Sui Treasury Hits Wall Street With $450M Power Move
Nasdaq-listed Mill City Ventures III, Ltd. has committed $450 million to establish the first listed Sui treasury, with approximately $441 million designated for purchasing SUI tokens, the native cryptocurrency of the Sui blockchain.
The decision was announced on July 28, 2025, with the goal to position the firm as a leader in integrating traditional finance with decentralized finance (DeFi), leveraging Sui’s fast-growing ecosystem.
Sui Foundation and Karatage Lead Mill City’s Bold New Path
Mill City Ventures, a Minnesota-based finance firm, raised $450 million through a private placement of 83,025,830 shares priced at $5.42 each. The offering, led by Karatage Opportunities and the Sui Foundation, attracted major investors like Pantera Capital, Electric Capital, ParaFi Capital, Arrington Capital, FalconX, and Galaxy Digital.
The token acquisition will be overseen and managed by Galaxy Asset Management, with 98% of proceeds—approximately $441 million—allocated to purchasing the tokens and 2% supporting the firm’s short-term lending operations.
The company claims to be the first public firm with a Sui-native treasury, citing an industry-first partnership with the Sui Foundation. With the transaction expected to be completed by July 31, 2025, and potential Nasdaq-listed access to the treasury could be as early as Thursday.
Upon closing, Karatage co-founder Marius Barnett will assume the role of Chairman, Stephen Mackintosh, also of Karatage, will serve as Chief Investment Officer, and Dana Wagner, a board member of Coinbase Custody Trust Company, will join as an independent director.
Sui’s Volatile Rise Powers Mill City’s Blockchain Ambitions
The investment came at a time when Sui’s DeFi ecosystem is seeing major growth, which recorded a total value locked (TVL) of $2.22 billion over the weekend, a nearly 400% increase since July 2024, after correcting to $2.144 billion, a 6.58% decline in the last 24 hours, according to DefiLlama.
Sui’s DeFi Data (Source: DefiLlama)
Leading protocols like Suilend, NAVI, and Haedal hold $1.7 billion in TVL, solidifying Sui’s position as a layer-1 blockchain developed by Mysten Labs using the Move programming language. Contrary to some reports, Sui is not built on Ethereum.
The surge is a testament to Mill City’s strategic bet on Sui’s potential in AI and DeFi integration.
Despite this momentum, the SUI token has been volatile. As of July 29, 2025, SUI trades at $3.97, down 6.99% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
SUI Price Chart (Source: CoinMarketCap)
Market data shows a peak of $4.43 on July 28 before a correction, with the token 25.56% still below its January 2025 high of $5.35. The dip is attributed to a market correction of overleveraged positions, yet Sui’s DeFi metrics show long-term strength.
Will Mill City’s $450M Sui Bet Spark a Corporate Trend?
Mill City’s $450 million allocation represents a major step toward merging traditional finance with blockchain technology, ultimately setting a precedent for public companies.
While firms like DeFi Technologies hold SUI, Mill City’s scale, focus, and interest make it a leader. The decision is described as a “validation for Sui’s world-class technology,” due to the unprecedented $441 million commitment.
The participation of Pantera Capital and Galaxy Asset Management provides greater confidence, though risks such as price volatility and potential regulatory challenges, including SUI’s classification as a security, persist.
The Mill City Ventures (MCVT) stock has surged 20% post-announcement, according to Yahoo Finance Data.
Mill City Ventures Stock Price (Source: Yahoo Finance)
