Biotech firm Sonnet to form $888M HYPE treasury

Nasdaq-listed biotech company Sonnet BioTherapeutics has announced a strategic pivot into crypto, unveiling an $888 million entity to launch a Hyperliquid (HYPE) digital asset treasury. 

On Monday, Sonnet said it formed a business combination with the newly created Rorschach to launch a treasury strategy focused on the HYPE token, the native crypto token of the fast-growing Hyperliquid ecosystem. 

The deal includes transforming Sonnet into Hyperliquid Strategies Inc. (HSI), which is expected to be the largest United States-listed public company holding the HYPE token on its balance sheet. The company aims to hold 12.6 million HYPE tokens, worth about $583 million when the agreement was made. 

In addition, it expects to have $305 million in cash, bringing its total value to $888 million. These funds will also be used to purchase more HYPE tokens in the future. 

Providing indirect exposure to HYPE via equity

Hyperliquid is a high-throughput layer-1 blockchain that supports onchain trading of perpetual futures and other financial primitives. CoinGecko data shows that Hyperliquid has a market capitalization of $16.2 billion and is currently the 12th-largest token by valuation. 

With HSI’s creation, investors can gain indirect exposure to HYPE through equity markets, bridging traditional finance with blockchain infrastructure.

Sonnet’s new project is backed by prominent companies, including Atlas Merchant Capital, Paradigm, Galaxy Digital, Pantera Capital, D1 Capital, Republic Digital and 683 Capital. 

The biotech company seems to be copying the playbook of the business intelligence firm-turned Bitcoin investor, Strategy, which provides indirect exposure to crypto through equity markets. 

In the press release, Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang said Hyperliquid has “broken out” as a crypto project with strong fundamentals. He said they see institutional demand for HYPE exposure, while the token is difficult to access in the United States. 

Meanwhile, Sonnet will continue to operate as a subsidiary under HSI’s umbrella. It’s expected to retain its ongoing clinical oncology assets. 

Cointelegraph reached out to Sonnet BioTherapeutics for more information and will update this article should we hear back.