TradFi giants get on board! Mill City invests $450 million in Heavy Position on Sui, with top institutions like Galaxy and Pantera teaming up to bet on the public chain track.

Non-bank lending company Mill City Ventures III announced a comprehensive transformation into digital assets through a $450 million private sale, with 98% of the funds allocated for the acquisition of Sui (SUI) tokens. This layout, led by the London hedge fund Karatage with participation from the Sui Foundation, marks a shift for this Nasdaq-listed company to adopt a full warehouse on-chain treasury strategy for Sui. The participation of top crypto venture capitalists such as Galaxy Digital and Pantera Capital is expected to accelerate the adoption of Sui in the institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure space, providing important signals for investors focused on traditional capital getting on board crypto.

( Strategic Transformation ) $450 million private sale allocation: Mill City's on-chain treasury revolution On July 28, Mill City Ventures III announced the completion of a $450 million private sale, with funds primarily aimed at a strategic transformation into the digital asset sector. Notably, as much as 98% of the raised funds (approximately $441 million) has been explicitly designated for the acquisition of the native Token SUI of the Sui network.

The financing round was led by the London hedge fund Karatage and received funding matching from the Sui Foundation. This move will enable this NASDAQ-listed company to fully transition to the Sui on-chain treasury management model, becoming a benchmark case for exploring the allocation of public chain tokens by traditional listed companies.

( The team and investors ) are led by encryption elites, with top institutions gathering After Mill City confirmed the transaction was completed, Karatage co-founders Marius Barnett and Stephen Mackintosh will respectively serve as the company's chairman and chief investment officer (CIO). The lineup of participants in this round of financing is impressive, including well-known institutions such as Galaxy Digital, Pantera Capital, Electric Capital, and ParaFi—these venture capitals are known for their long-term investments in the encryption infrastructure sector.

( layout logic ) Why heavily invest in Sui? Targeting the next generation of institutional-level Blockchain Mill City's strategic shift from traditional lending to a fully collateralized Sui treasury can be seen as a precise bet on the evolution of blockchain technology. Compared to Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH), where treasuries typically serve as passive reserve assets, the core of the Sui strategy lies in its infrastructure capabilities designed specifically for institutional adoption.

The parallel processing technology of the Sui network and its sub-second transaction confirmation speed uniquely support high-frequency application scenarios, from AI-driven smart contracts to large-scale stablecoin settlements. Stephen Mackintosh, General Partner at Karatage and incoming CIO of Mill City, stated: "Sui has made technical preparations for large-scale applications with its efficiency advantages that meet institutional scalability demands and a secure decentralized architecture compatible with AI workloads."

The direct involvement of the Sui Foundation further enhances strategic credibility. Unlike most enterprises that independently hold digital assets, Mill City Treasury will gain unique advantages through negotiated Token procurement and acquisition of ecological insights—resources that are typically only available to core participants.

( Execution Path ) Mixed Acquisition Strategy to Avoid Slippage, Compliance Framework Reserves Liquidity Exit According to the announcement, Mill City plans to acquire SUI tokens through a combination of open market purchases and institutional over-the-counter trading, using Karatage's industry network to avoid price slippage caused by large-scale purchases. This hybrid strategy is common among crypto native funds but is rare for publicly listed companies.

This private sale is conducted under Regulation D, restricting participation from U.S. investors who do not meet strict certification standards. While this reduces accessibility, it also allows Mill City to avoid the regulatory risks associated with public offerings of encrypted securities. The company plans to submit a resale registration statement to the SEC after the transaction is completed, which is expected to unlock potential liquidity for institutional holders.

Conclusion: Mill City's $450 million gamble not only highlights traditional capital's strong endorsement of the Sui technology route but also creates a new paradigm for listed companies to deeply participate in the public chain ecosystem. With support from top venture capital firms like Galaxy and Pantera, this strategic transformation may become a key milestone in accelerating institutional capital inflow into the third-generation Blockchain, injecting strong long-term demand support into the SUI Token economy.