Shares of Heritage Distilling (NASDAQ: CASK) surged nearly 20% on Tuesday after the company clarified details of its crypto strategy tied to Story Protocol’s native IP token, which itself jumped 31% to a record $11.66.
The company, best known for its craft spirits business, said it is moving ahead with its “IP Strategy,” which includes building a Treasury Dashboard to provide transparency on its IP holdings, outstanding shares, and net asset valuation. Heritage claims to be the first publicly traded company to structure a treasury reserve around Story Protocol’s IP token.
As part of the update, Heritage announced a series of prominent appointments. Phil Blows, co-founder of B2 Capital, has been named chief investment officer. Former Google executive David Lee and Erick Zhang, the former CEO of CoinMarketCap, are being considered as new board members.
The company is well-capitalized for the initiative. In August, it raised $220 million through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing round, with participation from leading crypto investors including a16z crypto, Arrington Capital, dao5, Hashed, Polychain Capital, and Selini Capital. Cantor Fitzgerald and Roth Capital Partners acted as placement agents for the raise.
Heritage’s strategy comes at a pivotal moment for Story Protocol, an intellectual property-focused Layer 1 blockchain that aims to reward content creators in an era increasingly shaped by AI-generated media. Story launched on mainnet in February after raising $136 million from a16z, Polychain, and Samsung Ventures.
The project has attracted significant attention in recent months, though not without turbulence. Co-founder and chief product officer Jason Zhao stepped down earlier this summer, reportedly close to a token vesting event. Meanwhile, institutional interest continues to grow: in July, Grayscale said it would launch a single-asset trust providing investors exposure to the IP token.
Heritage’s move underscores how corporate treasuries are beginning to diversify into niche crypto assets beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, reflecting broader momentum around tokenized intellectual property. If the strategy gains traction, Heritage may position itself not only as a spirits company but also as a bridge between traditional markets and emerging blockchain-based IP economies.
