South African financial services firm Altvest Capital Ltd. plans to raise 210 million US dollars to acquire Bitcoin and establish a cryptocurrency treasury reserve, Bloomberg reported. The company will also rebrand as Africa Bitcoin Corp., its founder and chief executive officer, Warren Wheatley, said.

The move positions Altvest as the first listed African firm to adopt Bitcoin as a primary reserve asset, following a strategy similar to that of Michael Saylor’s Strategy.com and Japan’s Metaplanet Inc. Altvest, currently valued at 52.8 million rand (3 million US dollars), intends to hold the cryptocurrency on its balance sheet alongside traditional assets such as cash or gold.

Smaller firms are increasingly seeking to replicate Saylor’s approach, using digital assets to attract long-term investors. “Pension funds, retirement annuities, unit trusts and others usually cannot directly buy Bitcoin,” Wheatley said. “By buying our shares, they will now be able to gain exposure in a regulated way through equity.”

Bitcoin has risen 95 percent over the past year but fell 0.4 percent to 110,942.53 US dollars as of 7:23 a.m. in Johannesburg. Altvest’s shares have declined 25 percent over the same period.

The Johannesburg-based company is seeking investment from both local and international sources and plans to pursue listings on exchanges outside South Africa. “Apart from developed markets, we plan to list on other African exchanges including Namibia, Botswana and Kenya, to provide easier access to our shares and greater Bitcoin exposure,” Wheatley said.

Altvest’s unit, Altvest Bitcoin Strategies Pty Ltd., will operate under CAEP Asset Managers Pty Ltd., which is authorised by South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority to provide regulated cryptocurrency services.