Mill City Ventures has acquired 76.3 million SUI tokens following the close of a $450 million private placement, becoming the first publicly listed company to launch a crypto treasury strategy backed by the Sui Foundation.
According to a July 31 press release, Mill City partnered with hedge fund Karatage and received an equivalent investment from the Sui (SUI) Foundation to kick off the initiative.
The firm’s new SUI holdings, acquired at an average price of $3.6389, are now held in a public wrapper offering retail and institutional investors daily liquidity.
Institutional access to Sui begins
Mill City’s treasury now holds over $277 million in SUI and plans to continue accumulation through over-the-counter and open market purchases. The strategy allows investors to gain direct exposure to the Sui network via a listed vehicle, positioning the firm as a unique access point for capital markets participants.
The deal was led by Karatage co-founders Marius Barnett and Stephen Mackintosh, who have joined Mill City as chairman and chief investment officer, respectively. Galaxy Asset Management will oversee the treasury’s operations, while other major participants include Pantera, Electric Capital, ParaFi, and Big Brain Holdings.
Sui is viewed as a blockchain built for mainstream use, with early institutional traction in stablecoins, gaming, and AI applications. Mill City’s collaboration with the foundation allows it to align with the network’s roadmap while building the largest institutionally managed SUI position on public markets.
“Our Sui strategy is about more than passively holding tokens; it’s about actively partnering with the ecosystem to maximize long-term value creation,” said Mackintosh.
Competitive positioning and SUI momentum
Mill City’s SUI holdings now exceed those of DeFi Technologies and Lion Group, two other listed firms with notable Sui allocations. DeFi Technologies holds 4.91 million SUI, valued at about $17 million, while Lion Group’s reserve includes 1.01 million SUI worth $3.09 million.
The treasury model builds on growing interest in Sui as a next-generation layer 1 with scalable infrastructure and a developer base originating from Meta’s Diem project. With foundational backing and top-tier asset managers involved, Mill City’s move could establish a standard for future institutional SUI treasuries.
