Johan Widmark | 2026-04-01 08:00
See intevew with CEO Joachim Samuelsson here (in swedish)
CEO and Chairman secure funding and extend runway
The rights issue addresses the immediate funding gap that emerged after the warrants expired out of the money in March. With Granitor Growth subscribing for approximately SEK 12m and CEO Joachim Samuelsson for approximately SEK 3m, the entire issue is effectively secured by insiders. This is noteworthy not only because the issue is fully covered, but because it is done at a price above the prevailing market price, signalling alignment and confidence from the company’s leadership and main shareholders. The process to bring in additional strategic investors through a directed issue later in 2026 further suggests that the current rights issue should be viewed primarily as bridge financing to support continued commercialisation efforts rather than a final capital raise.
Strategic positioning continues to strengthen
Operationally, Crunchfish continues to position governed offline payments as part of future payment system architecture rather than a standalone product feature. During the past months, the company has expanded its strategic positioning, including highlighting how governed offline may contribute to funding efficiency within regulated financial institutions through reservation-based balances. This institutional framing strengthens the economic rationale for adoption by banks and payment system operators. Additional activities during the period, including whitepaper publications, patent developments, institutional engagement and conference participation, continue to reinforce the company’s positioning within the broader discussion on resilient digital payment infrastructure. However, the key question remains unchanged: whether this strategic positioning can translate into commercial agreements and revenue-generating deployments.
Funding runway and valuation framework
The warrants issued in the September 2025 directed share issue expired worthless in March as the share price remained below the SEK 3.00 strike floor, removing a potential SEK 12–16m funding source and effectively triggering the need for the rights issue. Maintaining our revenue framework, built on subscription, reservation interest, and credit components, differentiated by PSP size and rollout pace, we continue to see support for a rNPV of SEK 5 per share. However, this valuation remains highly sensitive to a number of highly speculative assumptions regarding execution timing, adoption pace, and additional capital needs. The coming year will therefore be defined less by architectural milestones and more by the company’s ability to convert its system-level position into sustainable revenues.
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