NASDAQ-listed company Heritage Distilling plans to include Story (IP) in its main reserve assets, with a target Holdings of $360 million.

The Nasdaq-listed company Heritage Distilling Holding Company (stock code: CASK) announced on August 11 that it will become the first U.S. publicly traded company to incorporate the native token IP of the blockchain IP asset - Story into its main reserve assets through a private sale financing worth $220 million. Heritage will invest $82 million to directly purchase IP tokens at a protocol price of $3.40 each, and after the transaction is completed, its treasury will hold approximately 52.5 million IP (equivalent to about $361 million based on the market price of $6.8785 on August 10). The Story Foundation has committed to using the net cash proceeds to repurchase IP tokens on the open market within 90 days to stabilize the coin price. This move marks a new phase in the reserve strategy of publicly listed companies, viewing tokenized IP assets as a new type of yield-bearing reserve that is tied to the ecosystem.

[Innovative Reserve Strategy: 220 Million Private Sale Financing Locks 52.5 Million IP Tokens] American spirits producer Heritage Distilling Holding Company (NASDAQ: CASK) has announced a milestone decision: it will become the first NASDAQ-listed company to use Blockchain IP assets (the native Token IP of Story) as its primary reserve asset. This decision is realized through a $220 million private sale financing, which includes a combination of cash and Token contributions, supported by the Story Foundation and several major cryptocurrency investment institutions.

• Heritage will use $82 million from the financing to directly purchase IP Tokens from the Story Foundation at a protocol price of $3.40 per token.
• After the transaction is completed, Heritage's treasury will hold approximately 52.5 million IP Tokens. Based on the market price of $6.8785 on the previous day (August 10), this batch of tokens is worth about $361 million. In addition, the company will also raise 100 million dollars through the issuance of common stock and warrants, and obtain additional Token contributions from strategic partners.

【Token Mechanism and Market Stability: The Foundation Commits to Public Market Buyback within 90 Days】 The Story Foundation announced that it will use all net cash proceeds from this token sale to repurchase IP tokens on the open market within 90 days after the completion of the transaction. This mechanism aims to coordinate incentives, support the stabilization of token market prices, and reduce the impact of large institutional purchases on secondary market liquidity. Well-known financial institutions Cantor Fitzgerald and Roth Capital Partners serve as the co-placement agents for this private sale, while blockchain consulting firm Open World provides strategic guidance.

[Tokenization] IP Embraces the Public Market: The Ecological Value of Story IP is the native Token asset of Story. Story is an AI native Blockchain network focused on the on-chain implementation of intellectual property (IP) registration, licensing, and monetization.

• Its ecological applications (such as Aria and Ablo) have empowered well-known brands and artists like Adidas, BTS, and Justin Bieber to complete high-profile IP tokenization cases.
• IP Tokens play a core role in the Story ecosystem, facilitating transactions, supporting staking, and participating in network validation. Heritage's move reflects an increasingly growing trend: publicly listed companies no longer see digital assets merely as a store of value, but as reserve assets that can generate income and are deeply tied to specific ecosystems. This transaction is based on the launch of Story's mainnet in February 2025 and continues its collaboration with institutional partners such as Stability AI and Grayscale.

[Market Reaction: Short-term Fluctuations Do Not Change Long-term Trends] Despite this major positive announcement, the price of the IP Token has still dropped by 12% in the past 24 hours, quoted at 6.09 USD (as of the time of writing). However, after experiencing a strong rebound earlier, the token has still increased by 36% over the past month.

• The total market value of IP tokens is approximately $1.8 billion.
• The current price is still 16% lower than its historical high set in February of this year.

[Conclusion: Public Companies' Diversification of Reserve Assets Enters a New Era of IP Tokenization] Heritage Distilling, as the first Nasdaq-listed company, incorporates Blockchain IP Tokens into its core reserves, which has far-reaching symbolic significance for the industry. This is not only a bold attempt to diversify the balance sheet of a listed company but also elevates the tokenization of intellectual property assets to a status equal to that of traditional crypto reserve assets like Bitcoin and stablecoins. The buyback mechanism designed by the Story Foundation provides a new approach for large institutions to enter the market while balancing efficiency and market stability. Although token prices have fluctuated in the short term due to market sentiment, this collaboration has validated the potential of the Story Protocol's business model that deeply integrates real-world IP assets with on-chain finance. As more institutions explore incorporating income-generating and eco-bound token assets into reserves, tokenized IP is expected to become a key bridge connecting traditional capital markets with the Web3 innovation ecosystem.