Matador Technologies, a Canadian cryptocurrency company, said Monday that it will begin tapping into the funds Bitcoin As a Treasury reserve asset, starting with a $4.5 million purchase later this month.

The little-known company is developing a platform on top of the Bitcoin network, which will enable users to one day buy and trade digital representations of gold, according to a report. press release. The company previously He said It is targeting an “early 2025” launch for the aforementioned platform.

The company, formerly known as Scaling Capital 1, began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange last week under its new name. Since Matador's debut last Tuesday, its stock price has fallen 35% from a closing price of $0.90 to $0.58, as of this writing.

Since the software company MicroStrategy He started Buying Bitcoin in 2020 – ultimately raising more than $41 billion as of this writing – major tech companies like Tesla They brought the assets onto their balance sheets.

But with companies like Microsoft decrease Going this route recently, many of the companies following in MicroStrategy's footsteps have been relatively small. With a market cap of $49.5 million, Matador is a sure fit Which group.

Eventually, Matador plans to launch a mobile app that will allow users to “buy, sell and store gold 24/7,” according to Matador. press release. But the company said it plans to "build a broad range of products" beyond the precious metal, it said Website.

Bullfighter He said On Monday, its bid to buy Bitcoin was unanimously approved by the company's board of directors. As part of the move, Matador said it would convert the majority of its cash balances to US dollars, while eliminating Canada's official currency.

The Canadian company said that it evaluated the feasibility of its platform on Ethereum and Solanabut Bitcoin was chosen for its secure and stable network at the end of the day. Matador added that the physical gold reserves that support its digital representations will be held at the Royal Canadian Mint, a company owned solely by the Canadian government.

“Matador’s board of directors and management believe in using Bitcoin to protect our treasury in the future,” Matador Chairman Sunny Rai said in a statement. “This move also supports our mission to explore the use of Bitcoin as a platform for our gold-based products.”

Among the companies that have adopted Bitcoin this year, Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has built up $164 million in stock since its first purchase in April, according to Bitcoin Treasuries. But there is an overlap between Metaplanet and Matador outside of Bitcoin and it starts with the letter M.

BTC Corporation, the parent company of Bitcoin Magazineis known for hosting a popular range of Bitcoin conferences, but also runs UTXO as its investment arm.

The company's co-founder and managing partner, Tyler Evans, serves on Metaplanet's board of directors. In a press release earlier this month, Matador He said Evans will serve on its board of directors as well.

Matador, Evans and Metaplanet did not immediately respond to a request for comment Decryption.

Modified by Andrew Hayward