Key Takeaways
- Vallecid demanded a board shakeup over high BTC financing fees, creating bitter internal corporate warfare.
- Board members took up to 5% in fees on bitcoin purchases, diluting shareholders and drawing legal threats.
- Vanadi’s stock crashed 97% a year after its bitcoin pivot, wiping out market value despite its 223 BTC stash.
Spanish Bitcoin Treasury Vanadi Coffee Faces Internal Battle On Current Financial Structure
Vanadi Coffee, a coffee shop franchise that pivoted to a bitcoin treasury back in the heyday of this trend, is now facing internal turmoil due to shareholder dilution as the company seeks financing to purchase more bitcoin.
Vallecid, a Canarian conglomerate that owns nearly 10% of Vanadi Coffee, has called for the dissolution of the current board due to the high fees some members receive each time the company processes a tranche to finance bitcoin purchases.
According to El Economista, Vallecid proposed the “examination, detailed clarification, and specific rendering of accounts by the Board of Directors regarding all forms of remuneration, extraordinary commissions, and advances—whether in cash or in kind—received by the directors or by persons linked to them and to Vanadi.”
Reports indicate that Salvador Martí, founder of Vanadi Coffee and president of the board of directors, would receive 1,5% for endorsing and 2% for managing each financing transaction from Patblasc and GCFO21, key financiers of the company’s approved push to reach nearly $1.1 billion in bitcoin purchases. Furthermore, another director would receive fees that reach 5% in some cases.
Vallecid is also petitioning for the nullification of the approvals that allowed board members to collect these fees “without prejudice to any actions of nullity, voidability, unjust enrichment or liability that may arise,” hinting at possible legal actions.
Vanadi pivoted to bitcoin while still maintaining its coffee franchise business in 2025, in what the local press regarded as a Hail Mary to save the company amid a troubled financial standing.
Vanadi Coffee’s stock price rose after the company announced this hybrid model. Nonetheless, the stock has since tumbled, losing over 97% in a year. The company currently holds 223 BTC at an average cost of $116,340 per bitcoin, having spent over $11.5 million to accumulate these digital assets.