PANews reported on August 11th that Story Protocol, a blockchain platform for AI-native infrastructure and programmable IP, announced in an X-platform post that it has partnered with Nasdaq-listed Heritage Distilling (NASDAQ: CASK) to launch a $360 million $IP token reserve program. This program is backed by top institutions including a16z Crypto, Selini Capital, Amber Group, Arrington Capital, dao5, and Hashed. Heritage will acquire 52.4 million $IP tokens and lock them up for the long term. The Story Foundation will use $82 million to repurchase the equivalent amount of $IP within 90 days, potentially providing strong support for the market. This transaction is highly similar to the 30-fold surge in BitMine's stock price following the announcement of its Ethereum digital asset reserve strategy.

Notably, this marks a16z's first involvement in a listed company's strategic digital asset allocation, and also marks the first time a company with the lowest market capitalization on the Nasdaq has introduced a digital asset reserve. Story's native token, $IP, was listed on Upbit, South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, last Friday. It was also selected by Grayscale, the world's largest digital asset management company, as one of its "Top 20 Crypto Assets to Watch," launching the "Grayscale Story Trust" to provide direct investment channels for institutional investors. Over the past 30 days, the $IP token has risen 135.9% to $6.77.