The Nasdaq-listed company AlphaTON, formerly known as Portage Biotech, has officially announced the acquisition of $30 million worth of Toncoin (TON). This strategic purchase, revealed last Thursday, marks the company’s transformation into a digital asset treasury (DAT), following a growing market trend despite the asset’s recent price decline.
The initial $30 million investment is just the first step in a much more ambitious plan. According to the firm’s official statement, the goal is to increase its treasury to $100 million in Toncoin by the end of 2025. With this move, AlphaTON becomes the second DAT focused exclusively on The Open Network ecosystem, right after TON Strategy Co. However, the initial market reaction was not positive, as AlphaTON’s shares (APT) experienced a drop of approximately 9.6% following the announcement.
A Growing Corporate Strategy
AlphaTON’s decision underscores a trend initiated in 2020 by giants like MicroStrategy with Bitcoin, where public companies diversify their balance sheets with digital assets. In the case of Toncoin, AlphaTON is not alone; TON Strategy Co. had previously accumulated over $700 million in the token. Both companies share a similar model of accumulation and staking, although AlphaTON emphasizes its focus on active investment within the ecosystem, while its peer focuses on long-term, unleveraged holding.
Despite growing corporate backing, the performance of both the tokens and the shares of these companies has been lackluster. For instance, shares of TON Strategy have fallen by more than 65% in the last month. This situation raises questions about the immediate effectiveness of this strategy in building confidence in the traditional stock market. Furthermore, Toncoin itself has seen its value decrease by approximately 13% in the last month.
The price weakness of Toncoin is particularly striking considering its ecosystem context. In January, Telegram announced that The Open Network would be the exclusive infrastructure for its ecosystem of Mini Apps, a partnership that should theoretically boost the token’s demand and value. Despite this significant endorsement and receiving over $400 million in venture capital investments, the altcoin is trading 50% below its value at the beginning of the year, showing a clear disconnect between ecosystem development and market performance.
This move by AlphaTON confirms that the diversification of corporate treasuries into cryptocurrencies is no longer limited to Bitcoin or Ethereum but now includes other prominent altcoins. Nevertheless, the path is fraught with volatility. The experience of Toncoin-focused DATs shows that a strong corporate bet does not guarantee an immediate boost in the asset’s price or the company’s stock value, leaving investors in a position of cautious expectation regarding the long-term results of this bold financial strategy.
