Lucía Peña
Heritage Distilling Holding Company (CASK) is poised to become the first publicly traded company to adopt the IP token as its primary reserve asset, implementing a $340 million crypto treasury strategy supported by a16z crypto and a roster of other high-profile investors.
This initiative forms part of a $220 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal — set to close around August 13 — consisting of $100 million in cash and $120 million in IP tokens provided by the Story Foundation and strategic partners. The investor lineup 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 serving as joint placement agents, while Open World advises on treasury structuring.
Strategic Discount and Large-Scale Token Acquisition
From the cash proceeds, Heritage will invest $82 million to purchase IP tokens from the Story Foundation at a fixed price of $3.40 each — a 47.3% discount to the current market price of $6.45. In return, the Story Foundation has pledged to use 100% of the net proceeds to repurchase IP on the open market within 90 days.
Upon closing, Heritage expects to hold approximately 52.5 million IP tokens in its treasury — valued at $340 million based on current market prices. Additional partners will contribute more IP tokens to Heritage in exchange for common stock or pre-funded warrants.
What Is the IP Token and Why It Matters
The IP token is the native currency of Story, a Layer 1 blockchain built to tokenize and safeguard intellectual property in the AI era. Story transforms IP into NFTs with embedded licensing and attribution, enabling creators, businesses, and AI systems to register, remix, and monetize content in a legally compliant way.
Story has already collaborated with major global names including Justin Bieber, BTS, Blackpink, Adidas, and Crocs. Heritage CEO Justin Stiefel says the move grants the company “early exposure to the tokenized IP economy” and positions the IP token as a new strategic reserve category.
Governance, Leadership, and Industry Expertise
Matt Shaw, Director at the Story Foundation, called the deal “responsible governance” that allows public market investors to gain exposure to IP without directly holding tokens.
As part of the agreement, several influential crypto and tech figures will join Heritage in advisory and leadership positions:
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Seung Yoon “SY” Lee, founder of PIP Labs and creator of Story — Advisory Board Chair
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Phil Blows, co-founder of AQRU and B2 Capital Management — Chief Investment Officer
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Ben Sternberg, CFO at PIP Labs and former CFO at Radish — Strategic Finance Advisor
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David Lee, ex-Google executive and former CDO at 451 Media — Board Nominee
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Erick Zhang, founding partner at Nomad Capital, ex-Binance research head, former CoinMarketCap CEO — Board Nominee
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Ravi Kaza, CIO at Arrington Capital — Special Advisor to the Board and Digital Assets Committee
Broader Industry Context
Just last month, Grayscale launched the Story Trust, providing institutional investors with regulated exposure to IP tokens. Currently, IP ranks as the 70th-largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $2 billion and a fully diluted valuation near $6.5 billion, according to PRIME’s data.
