Mill City Ventures III, a publicly traded specialty finance firm, is making a dramatic pivot into crypto with the announcement of a $450 million private placement that will largely fund a new treasury strategy centered on SUI, the native cryptocurrency of the Sui blockchain. Roughly 98% of the funds will be used to purchase SUI on the open market and through direct agreements with the Sui Foundation, according to a press release. The move will make SUI Mill City’s primary treasury asset. The remaining 2% will support the firm’s existing short-term lending operations.
This marks one of the largest SUI allocations to date and ties Mill City’s future to the performance of a blockchain designed for high-throughput applications, including payments, gaming and AI infrastructure. Karatage Opportunities, a hedge fund focused on digital assets, led the funding round. Founders Marius Barnett and Stephen Mackintosh will take over key leadership roles at Mill City as board chairman and chief investment officer, respectively.
The change effectively positions Mill City as a public vehicle for gaining institutional exposure to SUI—an unusual move in the publicly traded financial sector. According to the company, the arrangement includes a foundation-backed strategy with shared insight into the Sui ecosystem. With the deal expected to close by the end of July, Mill City will be among the first publicly listed U.S. firms to formally adopt a blockchain-native treasury approach on this scale.
