Upexi is a consumer-products brand owner that develops, manufactures, and distributes products, while also pursuing a Solana-focused digital-asset treasury strategy through its cryptocurrency portfolio. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Upexi Chief Strategy Officer Brian Rudick to gain a deeper understanding of the company.
Brian Rudick’s Background
Brian Rudick’s Background
Could you tell me more about your background? Rudick said:
“I spent a decade in traditional finance, mostly managing a long/short book of bank stocks as part of a larger financials team for various hedge funds like Citadel, Balyasny, and Millennium. I became interested in digital assets through some of the banks I covered that were the fiat on-off ramps for the crypto industry like Signature and Silvergate, and decided that it would take many years, but that crypto and blockchain would eventually become ubiquitous because of all of the wonderful use cases and benefits they create. I then moved to GSR, the largest digital asset market maker, where I led the research effort for over four years. While at GSR, I spearheaded the investment into Upexi’s $100 million equity private placement to establish its Solana treasury, and then joined Upexi as Chief Strategy Officer to further its lead as the canonical Solana treasury company.”
Formation Of The Company
How did the idea for the company come together? Rudick shared:
“The idea to create a Solana treasury came about for four reasons: 1) simply observing MicroStrategy’s wild success, where it has been the best performing stock in the US since it pivoted to a Bitcoin treasury strategy in August 2020, 2) a deep understanding of where the value a treasury strategy emanates from, as issuing equity above book value is by definition accretive, 3) a deep belief that Solana has the best chance to be the end-game winning high performance blockchain, with immense upside given a market cap 4% the size of Bitcoin’s and a TAM that is global compute, and 4) a more open SEC gave us additional comfort to embark on this journey.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Rudick reflected:
“My favorite memory thus far has been successfully raising the initial $100 million equity private placement that bootstrapped Upexi’s Solana treasury. It was the first large-scale PIPE for an altcoin treasury, which was incredibly novel at the time. It took a lot of convincing of investors, companies, and bankers to pull it off. Innovating on the MicroStrategy model, Upexi provided the blueprint for altcoin treasuries in the US, and it has been amazing to see what this trend has turned into with over 100 digital asset treasury companies having been formed since.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Rudick explained:
“Upexi is a consumer brand owner, selling pet care supplies, energy supplements, and medicinal mushroom products direct to consumers and via Amazon. That said, Upexi holds $350 million worth of the cryptocurrency Solana, and thus the preponderance of value comes from its Solana treasury operations. Here, we create value for shareholders via intelligent capital issuance, staking to earn an 7% yield on the treasury, and purchasing locked Solana at a discount for built-in gains for shareholders.”
Challenges Faced
Have you faced any challenges in your sector of work recently? Rudick acknowledged:
“From investors thinking treasury companies were meme stocks to investment banking partners not being comfortable working on crypto projects to companies not wanting to bet on digital assets, we faced immense pushbacks at the outset. We overcame these challenges with a deep knowledge and belief in the value such a strategy creates and a relentless pursuit of the goal. Every day is getting easier as the model continues to demonstrate its value.”
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Rudick noted:
“While we are still a consumer brands company, we have jumped knee-deep into cryptocurrencies, specifically by accumulating Solana’s native token SOL. As a smart contract blockchain, Solana enables permissionless and trustless computation, and can be thought of as a “computer in the sky”. While laser focused on re-imagining the currently-antiquated financial rails with its vision of internet capital markets, Solana’s performance and technical capabilities enable many use cases from decentralized finance (DeFi) to decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), AI agents, social media, gaming, stablecoins, RWAs, meme coins, and more. Each can be done without intermediaries, with democratized value exchange, and with new constructs around ownership, governance, and business models. It will take time, but cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology – and we believe Solana in particular – will become ubiquitous and will provide immense benefits to peoples’ everyday lives.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Rudick cited:
“Two of the company’s more recent significant milestones are the successful completion of the initial $100 million equity private placement, and its subsequent $200 million private placement. The former not only bootstrapped the company’s Solana treasury strategy, but also set off one of the bigger trends in financial markets in recent history. The latter included the first-of-its-kind, highly innovative in kind convertible financing, offering significant benefits for both investors and the company.”
Customer Success Stories
Can you share any specific customer success stories? Rudick highlighted:
“As a treasury company, we benefit from the Solana ecosystem in a number of ways, most notably by raising its visibility particularly amongst traditional investors.”
Funding/Revenue
Are you able to discuss funding and/or revenue metrics? Rudick revealed:
“As a treasury company, we seek to raise capital in an accretive fashion. We have been successful thus far, raising a total of $300 million from institutional investors to buy Solana, and aim to raise more funds in the future. Additioanlly, we stake our Solana to turn the treasury into a productive asset, earning an 8% yield, or more than $65,000 per day.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Rudick affirmed:
“We are the largest Solana treasury company with over 2 million SOL held. We are also backed by 15 of the leading cryptocurrency venture capital funds, of whom provide immense value. We believe we have the right strategy, seeking to maximize shareholder value but in a risk prudent fashion, which will enable us to weather all market environments and appeal to crypto and traditional investors alike. Lastly, we have a differentiated management team – for example, our CEO Allan Marshall founded $14 billion XPO Logistics, and I have deep connectivity to traditional finance, having spent years at several top hedge funds.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Rudick concluded:
“Our goal is to continue to acquire and hold as much Solana as possible in an accretive and risk-prudent fashion, as well as to support the Solana ecosystem through a number of means, most importantly by providing enhanced visibility for traditional investors.”
