Orange Juice raises $40M to buy businesses on a Bitcoin standard

Orange Juice Holdings raised $40 million to acquire profitable small businesses and convert a portion of their earnings into Bitcoin, the macroeconomist-led firm announced July 16.

"Pure-play Bitcoin holding companies exist, but their cash-flowing operations tend to be small or non-existent," Lyn Alden, co-founder of Orange Juice and macroeconomist, said in a blog post. "Orange Juice instead will emphasize building a strong and diversified base of cash flows."

The Connecticut-based permanent-capital company targets U.S. businesses generating $1 million to $10 million in annual profit, paying sellers partly in cash and partly in Orange Juice stock. Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas participated as anchor investor. The firm intends to hold acquired businesses indefinitely rather than resell them, with retained earnings flowing into a Bitcoin treasury.

The model faces a structural test: roughly 2.9 million American businesses are owned by people 55 or older, according to Project Equity and Harvard Business School research, but only 20% to 30% of businesses that go up for sale find a buyer, per the Exit Planning Institute. Orange Juice is betting its Bitcoin-linked equity can bridge that gap — but only if sellers accept private stock in a holding company whose value depends partly on Bitcoin's price.

The flywheel works in sequence: acquire cash-flowing businesses, pay partly in stock, retain earnings to fund more acquisitions and Bitcoin purchases, list publicly, then use liquid shares to buy the next round. Galaxy has described the standard Bitcoin treasury playbook as a premium-to-net-asset-value loop — companies trade above the value of the Bitcoin they hold, raise equity at that premium, buy more Bitcoin, and sustain the premium through narrative.

The loop turns dangerous once the premium disappears, Galaxy warned. Many digital asset treasury companies have already hit that wall. Strategy, the largest and oldest Bitcoin treasury, sold roughly $218 million of Bitcoin this year to fund dividends and rebuild dollar reserves, while its Nasdaq-listed stock has fallen nearly 80% over the past year.

Orange Juice's operating businesses give it a cash-flow source unique among treasury-style companies. But the acquisition-currency component still relies on the same kind of public market valuation that is under strain elsewhere in the category. If Bitcoin weakens or the eventual listing draws a skeptical market, sellers start demanding more cash and less stock, and the acquisition-currency piece stalls. Orange Juice would still be able to buy companies — just at the higher, all-cash cost the model was built to avoid.

The company has raised $40 million and intends to pursue a public listing in the future, with the timing still undecided. Ego Death Capital partners Jeff Booth, Nico Lechuga and Andi Pitt co-founded the firm alongside Alden, Adrian Steckel and Ruben Zweiban.

There are currently more than 360 digital asset treasuries globally, according to BitcoinTreasuries.net, spanning private and public entities holding a variety of digital assets.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.