China-based Webus International (WETO) submitted a Form 6-K with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, setting the stage for a potential corporate treasury based on the Ripple-linked XRP token.
Foreign private issuers with securities traded on US exchanges use Form 6-K to disclose material updates to U.S. investors. According to the filing, the Nasdaq-listed automotive and hospitality company is exploring a financing strategy of up to $300 million to build an XRP reserve to support international payment solutions.
Specifically, Webus plans to incorporate Ripple’s blockchain-based payment network into its business to streamline cross-border transactions and bolster transparency across its travel and hospitality booking services.
The firm teamed up with investment advisor Samara Alpha Management to facilitate the creation of its XRP treasury, as per the filing.
XRP is changing hands at $2.21 as of press time, down roughly 1.6% over the past 24 hours but up 320.5% over the past year, CoinMarketCap data shows. The Ripple-affiliated coin rocketed after President Donald Trump’s election victory, almost reaching its all-time high price milestone from January 2017 in the process.
The filing comes as a growing number of public companies have also begun stacking cryptocurrencies in their treasuries, emulating Michael Saylor-led software firm Strategy’s push to amass over $60 billion in Bitcoin over the past few years.
Like Webus, several companies are also increasingly imitating Strategy’s playbook and adapting it for Ripple’s XRP, indicating increasing interest from corporations in the industry’s fourth-largest token by market capitalization.
Earlier in May, Florida-based healthcare logistics company Wellgistics announced that it would add millions of dollars worth of XRP to its balance sheet and adopt it for payments infrastructure.
And last week, Nasdaq-listed energy firm VivoPower International disclosed plans to create a $121 million XRP treasury.
