K Wave Media (NASDAQ: KWM), a Korean entertainment company known for K-drama and K-pop content licensing, sold all of its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings on May 6. According to a Form F-3 on June 30,
K Wave Media (NASDAQ: KWM), a Korean entertainment company known for K-drama and K-pop content licensing, sold all of its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings on May 6.
According to a Form F-3 on June 30, the sale was made for aggregate proceeds of $64.2 million, which registers up to $250 million in securities.
K Wave's subsidiary, Play Company, has a one-year global distribution agreement with HYBE Co., Ltd., the parent company behind global K-Pop group BTS, on April 3, 2026. This covers video and print merchandise for BTS, and other HYBE-backed K-Pop groups like Seventeen, Tomorrow X Together and LE SSERAFIM. HYBE retains all underlying intellectual property rights under the deal.
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The sale, tied to an April 29 amendment to a securities purchase agreement with Anson Funds, liquidated the company's 88 BTC and used part of the proceeds to repay $6 million of outstanding notes.
The filing states K Wave has "not abandoned" its treasury strategy outright but has "determined to halt" it while it redirects capital toward AI infrastructure.
The reversal caps a Bitcoin treasury effort that lasted less than a year. K Wave first bought 88 BTC in July 2025. It was backed by up to $1 billion in combined financing capacity through a $500 million agreement with Anson Funds and a separate $500 million standby equity purchase agreement with Bitcoin Strategic Reserve KWM LLC.
CEO Ted Kim had said at the time the company aimed to scale holdings toward 10,000 BTC.
The halt in Bitcoin treasury plans followed mounting financial strain. K Wave's Anson notes carried default terms that could trigger 12% retroactive interest and let the secured party seize collateral, creating pressure to convert Bitcoin to cash.
Moreover, Nasdaq notified K Wave on June 16, 2026, that its ordinary shares failed to meet the $15 million minimum Market Value of Publicly Held Shares requirement for continued listing, based on the May 4 to June 15 trading period.
The company now has until December 14, 2026, a 180-day window to regain compliance, which it can do by closing above $15 million in publicly held share value for ten consecutive business days.
If it fails to do so, Nasdaq would move to delist the shares, though K Wave would have the right to appeal or potentially transfer its listing to the Nasdaq Capital Market if it meets that market's standards. The company said it is evaluating options and planned to submit a formal compliance plan to Nasdaq in June, while cautioning there's no guarantee it will regain compliance.
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