K Wave Media Inc. has entered into an agreement to raise up to $500 million by selling ordinary shares, with a significant portion earmarked for building a bitcoin-focused treasury.
K Wave Media Enters $500M Deal to Fuel Bitcoin-Centric Treasury and Growth
The Nasdaq-listed company (KWM) announced the securities purchase agreement with Bitcoin Strategic Reserve KWM LLC on June 4. Proceeds will support its bitcoin-centric digital asset treasury strategy, working capital needs and mergers and acquisitions to expand its Korean content and K-pop businesses.
K Wave stated it will allocate a major part of the funds from share sales under the facility to purchasing, long-term holding, and yield optimization of bitcoin (BTC), aiming to be among the first publicly traded media companies integrating BTC directly into core treasury operations. Plans also include operating Lightning Network nodes and investing in BTC-native infrastructure.
KWM shares skyrocketed following the announcement as the stock was up more than 126% at 3:24 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday afternoon.
Positioning itself as “the Metaplanet of Korea,” K Wave explicitly references Japan’s Metaplanet Inc. The company believes combining public market access with a focused bitcoin treasury initiative will resonate with global investors. It sees its growing media businesses, BTC treasury, and BTC utilization enabling consumers to experience its content and K-pop merchandise in a Web3 environment, acting as a growth catalyst.
Key strategic initiatives involve acquiring and holding BTC as the primary corporate reserve asset, reinvesting BTC yields into more bitcoin and infrastructure, and allowing consumers to purchase KWM content and K-pop merchandise using BTC in Web3. “K Wave Media’s bold adoption of bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset is a visionary move that signals the growing convergence between digital media and decentralized finance,” said Choi Pyeungho, chairman of the board.
Co-Interim CEO Ted Kim emphasized bitcoin‘s role beyond value storage: “Bitcoin offers not just a store of value, but a foundation for innovation, independence, and global scalability. By embedding BTC into our core strategy, we’re reinforcing our commitment to decentralization, agility, and future-facing value creation.” The step aims to help KWM expand within the K-pop ecosystem, including concert management and music distribution.
Founded in 2023 and headquartered in the Cayman Islands with operating subsidiaries in South Korea, K Wave Media is a diversified entertainment company focused on high-quality Korean content, K-pop merchandising, and investments. It is the first Korean media alliance listed on Nasdaq.
