Vanadi Café Chain | €1 Billion Bitcoin Strategy

Vanadi Coffee, a small café chain based in Alicante, Spain, has officially approved an ambitious plan to invest up to €1 billion (about $1.17 billion) in bitcoin.

The decision, made during a shareholder meeting on June 29, is a big change for the company which has just 6 locations and has been losing money.

Despite reporting a net loss of €3.3 million in 2024 and only €2 million in annual revenue, Vanadi is betting its future on bitcoin. The company will adopt bitcoin as its main reserve asset, like bigger players such as U.S.-based Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and Japan’s Metaplanet.

“Investing in Bitcoin is a long-term commitment to a new decentralized financial model,” Vanadi said in an official statement. “Vanadi Coffee is diversifying its business into Bitcoin investment and management and other cryptocurrency-related areas.”

The idea to go bitcoin-first surfaced 3 weeks ago when Vanadi’s chairman, Salvador Martí, proposed the plan after months of falling stock prices and poor financial performance.

When the company went public in July 2023, shares were trading at €3.28. By early June 2025, shares had dropped to €0.28 – a 91% drop.

Vanadi Coffee called bitcoin a strategic asset and said it could help protect and grow the company’s assets.

In May, the café chain made its first bitcoin purchase: 5 BTC at a cost of around $527,000. After that announcement, the stock went up. But the boost faded as bitcoin’s price dropped and investors waited for action.

Now that the plan is approved, Vanadi has started to execute. The company has just added 20 BTC to its holdings, bringing the total to 54 BTC – worth around €5.8 million.

Vanadi will fund its bitcoin accumulation through convertible financing and capital raises, meaning the company can issue new debt or equity to bring in funds. This gives flexibility but could also dilute existing shareholder value if not managed properly.

The board has been authorized to “negotiate one or more convertible financing lines to finance the implementation of the aforementioned bitcoin accumulation strategy up to a maximum limit of 1 billion euros,” the company announced.

The strategy is already getting institutional attention. Two of the backers are Patblasc Software Consulting, a small local firm that offered €50 million and Alpha Blue Ocean, an international investment group that is supporting Vanadi as part of a €1.5 billion program across 15 companies.

Despite the doubts, the market is loving it. Vanadi’s stock has gone up 240% in the last month and over 500% this year and is one of the top performers on Spain’s BME Growth index.

Shares more than tripled in June after the company announced it was going all in on bitcoin.

Analysts are divided. Some see it as bold and forward-thinking. Others warn of huge risks given the company’s lack of experience in digital assets and its small size.

Analysts say the café chain’s €1 billion bitcoin bet is a huge risk and will backfire if the bitcoin market drops or regulators intervene.

Critics point out several concerns. Vanadi has thin margins and rising costs. On the other hand, Spain’s regulatory stance on large corporate bitcoin investments is unclear.

What sets Vanadi apart is the scale of its bet relative to its size. €1 billion in bitcoin is the biggest bitcoin pivot ever by a company of this kind and size in Europe.

Will this bet pay off or will it become a cautionary tale? Only time will tell.