The director of Bitcoin strategy at Méliuz states that the company will buy as much BTC as possible and as quickly as it can.

“We received more questions than criticisms.” This is how executive Diego Kolling defines the last three months of Méliuz, a period in which the loyalty points company officially established its strategy to become a Bitcoin Treasury company.

Responsible for the company's strategy regarding Bitcoin, Kolling points out some numbers to indicate that the company's strategy has been successful: the fundraising through follow-on of R$ 180 million to follow the plan had twice the demand expected; the CASH3 stock rose 197% in the year-to-date until June 5 (the best performance on B3 in 2025); and the expectation is that the ticker will return to the IBOV index.

The demand for shares of a company that commits to putting all possible resources into Bitcoin is high and seems not to be affected by other means of exposure to the asset, such as national or U.S. ETFs.

“We understand that we do not compete with those who have Bitcoin directly or via ETF. We see ourselves as a complementary position in the portfolio even for those who already have bitcoins, even for those who may already have bitcoins on the balance sheet. We do not propose, do not defend, do not encourage a position of us versus Bitcoin.”

The thesis of Méliuz is that investing in Bitcoin Treasuries is advantageous because the same amount of dollars exposes you to a larger amount of Bitcoin than would be the case in a direct purchase. “One share of Méliuz three months ago meant 320 sats per share. It now means 44% more per share. And by the end of the year, it will probably mean even more bitcoins per share,” says Kolling.

In addition, there are ideas (still nothing concrete for regulatory purposes) for a possible issuance of debt and a process of securitization of Bitcoin. This maneuver allows exposure with less volatility for the client and a gain in the spread.

“It is very common for Bitcoin Treasury Companies to issue debt that promises a sort of return of the principal, meaning they remove the downside risk, and deliver part of the return of Bitcoin to the debt buyer. They are satisfied with part of the Bitcoin return while we keep the total Bitcoin return,” says Kolling.

Cashback or Bitcoin?

But focusing on buying Bitcoin does not mean, according to the executive, a loss of faith in the market for loyalty point programs. “This movement [turning into a Bitcoin Treasury] has much more to do with a macro context of the markets than with any disillusionment of Méliuz with its own business,” he asserts.

Kolling points out that the mass of investors is interested in seeking protection from inflation. In this context, all the money goes into Treasury bonds or into Ibovespa stocks. Very little would then be left for other publicly traded companies.

All this imbalance generated a situation where Méliuz, despite doing its homework, despite delivering cash generation, having no debt and healthy growth, and a successful turnaround to a light asset movement, lacked liquidity, was not covered by any bank, and did not have a healthy options market,” explains the executive.

Kolling recalls that the company has 400 people in cashback operations and a group of eight dealing with Bitcoin. “Absolute focus on the traditional business, which, by the way, has many synergies with Bitcoin itself.”

But the company acknowledges that the balance may increasingly shift towards a focus on Bitcoin and not on the cashback market. “Being very transparent, it is clear that in the long term, if everything we are planning goes well, it is obvious that the cashback business tends to become less and less relevant to us. For obvious reasons,” says Marcio Loures Penna, director of investor relations.

Bear Market and Future

But what if a bear market violently drives down the price of Bitcoin? Kolling believes that the intense accumulation of BTC will offset a price fluctuation.

“Because if Bitcoin drops 30%, but the amount of bitcoins in your stock triples, how much should your stock be worth? In simple logic, your amount of Bitcoins per share has grown so much that in reais it has performed better than Bitcoin itself, because now your stock is worth three times more bitcoins than before and it absorbed some drop.”

Citing security concerns, executives said they cannot reveal how the buying process has been, which brokers are used, and how the custody of assets is handled. On June 23, Méliuz held 595.67 BTC, acquired at an average price of $102,702.84 per Bitcoin.

Kolling now assures that the strategy is always to buy as much Bitcoin as possible, regardless of the price, using all available resources.

“The lump-sum which is the immediate purchase of everything you set aside for Bitcoin is better than DCA, which is the installment purchase over time. The statistics are on this side and we will play this game. So, we will buy immediately whenever we have the money.”