KR1 PLC expands portfolio of blockchain and crypto investments

What KR1 does

() is a digital asset manager the supports early stage companies developing blockchain-based technologies and services.

Founded in 2016, the company has invested in a number of projects that it believes will power the development of the decentralised blockchain infrastructure.

The company is currently listed on the Aquis exchange in London.

How it’s doing

In mid-October, the company sold 202,297 tokens in the Polkadot project at an average price of US$5.12 each, netting proceeds of around US$1.03mln.

The digital asset investment firm said the partial exit represents only a small part of its position in Polkadot and that it is actively staking a “significant majority” of the holding to generate recurring revenue. The company said it now holds around 3.56mln Polkadot tokens.

The firm has also been making strides to expand its portfolio, announcing in early October that it invested in the Moonbeam network project, an Ethereum-compatible smart contract platform on the Polkadot network. As part of Moonbeam’s seed funding round, KR1 invested a total of US$100,000 in the project and will receive a yet-to-be-determined amount of Glimmer tokens that will power Moonbeam’s blockchain.

KR1 also said in August that it will have a share of “the pick of the best seed-stage opportunities in the Ethereum space” after becoming a member of the MetaCartel Ventures (MCV) decentralised autonomous organisation.

In its results for the half-year ended June 30, the digital asset and cryptocurrency investment firm also said it is witnessing evidence of the coming upward cycle with “increased assets on the balance sheet, successful partial investment exits at many multiples and newer, stronger cash flows from more and more staking activities being switched on”.

KR1 also said the recent purchase of Bitcoin and other key digital assets by company treasuries and investor portfolios, particularly a recent US$425mln Bitcoin purchase by US business intelligence firm company MicroStrategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR), which the company was made as a hedge against possible inflation.

In the figures for the first half, KR1 reported a profit on ordinary activities before tax of £521,666 compared to £4.6mln in the previous year, while net current assets stood at £8.08mln.

What the bosses say: Keld van Schreven and George McDonaugh, managing directors

“We expect the trend of strengthening balance sheets and diversification into Bitcoin to continue as the world’s monetary policies shift evermore towards unbridled money printing and higher inflation. The digital asset world will continue to disrupt and innovate in all directions, and although the disruption will be most keenly felt in finance first through [decentralised finance], we will see this impact every industry over time.”

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Inflexion points

• More profits from token sales
• Recurring staking revenues
• Investment opportunities arising as blockchain industry expands