a16z crypto and others back $340 million IP token treasury strategy from Heritage Distilling

Heritage Distilling Holding Company (ticker CASK) is set to become the first public company to adopt the IP token as its primary reserve asset, launching a treasury strategy worth about $340 million with backing from a16z crypto and other major investors.

The plan is part of a $220 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing — expected to close on or about Aug. 13 — that combines $100 million in cash with $120 million worth of IP tokens contributed by the Story Foundation and other strategic partners. The investor group includes Amber Group, Arrington Capital, dao5, Hashed, Mirana Ventures, Neoclassic Capital, Open World, Polychain Capital, Selini Capital, Stix, and Syncracy Capital. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and Roth Capital Partners are acting as joint placement agents and financial advisors, with Open World advising on the treasury structure.

Heritage will allocate $82 million of the cash proceeds to buy IP tokens from Story Foundation at a fixed price of $3.40 each — a 47.3% discount to IP’s current market price of about $6.45. Story Foundation said it will use 100% of the net cash proceeds to repurchase IP on the open market within 90 days.

At closing, Heritage expects to hold around 52.5 million IP tokens in its treasury, valued at roughly $340 million based on current prices, according to The Block’s IP price page. The transaction will also see other partners contribute additional IP to Heritage in exchange for common stock or pre-funded warrants.

IP is the native token of Story, a Layer 1 blockchain designed to tokenize and protect intellectual property in the AI era. Story turns IP into NFTs with built-in licensing and attribution, enabling creators, companies, and AI agents to register, remix, and monetize content in a legally compliant way. The network has facilitated collaborations with artists and brands, including Justin Bieber, BTS, Blackpink, Adidas, and Crocs.

Heritage CEO Justin Stiefel said the deal gives the distiller “early exposure to the tokenized IP economy” and positions IP as a new category of strategic reserve asset. Story Foundation Director Matt Shaw described the structure as “responsible governance” that lets public market investors gain equity exposure to IP without holding tokens directly.

A group of crypto and tech executives will join Heritage in advisory and board roles as part of the transaction. Seung Yoon “SY” Lee, founder and CEO of PIP Labs and the original creator of Story, will chair the company’s advisory board. Phil Blows, co-founder of AQRU and B2 Capital Management, has been appointed chief investment officer, while Ben Sternberg, CFO of PIP Labs and former CFO at Radish, will serve as strategic finance advisor. Board nominees include David Lee, a former Google executive and ex-chief corporate development officer at 451 Media, and Erick Zhang, founding partner of Nomad Capital, former head of research at Binance, and former CEO of CoinMarketCap. Ravi Kaza, chief investment officer at Arrington Capital, will join as special advisor to the board and digital assets committee.

Last month, Grayscale launched the Story Trust, giving institutional investors regulated exposure to IP.

The IP token currently ranks as the 70th-largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of about $2 billion and a fully diluted valuation of roughly $6.5 billion, according to The Block’s data.

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