The Smarter Web Company, a British technology company, has raised $21 million from a new kind of financial instrument, a bond issued against Bitcoin.
Dubbed “Smarter Convert,” this bond enables investors to eventually exchange their investment for shares in the company at a 5% premium on the current share price.
According to the official announcement, the bond was fully purchased by TOBAM, a well-known asset manager based in Paris. TOBAM has been active in the crypto space since 2016 and invested through three of its funds. Their involvement shows strong institutional trust in Bitcoin-backed financial products.
The bond will have a lifespan of 12 months and it will not incur any interest. Rather, investors can choose to exchange their bonds for shares in the Smarter Web Company. In the event of no conversion within 12 months, the company will refund 98% of the value of the bond, factoring in the price of Bitcoin at the time.
The exchange ratio is £2.05 for every share, which is 5% above the company’s closing price of £1.95 on August 5, 2025. If all the bonds are exchanged, about 7.7 million new shares will be issued.
Key Terms and Risk Management
Investors must hold the bond for at least six months before they can convert it into shares. If the company’s share price rises by 50% above the conversion price for 10 straight days, the company can force investors to convert their bonds into shares.
Since the bond is denominated in Bitcoin, how much the company will have to pay back depends on the performance of Bitcoin. To manage this risk, the company has limited the amount of Bitcoin it will take in from this program to 30% of its unencumbered (free-to-use) Bitcoin reserves.
Benefits and Future Plans
This structure lets the Smarter Web Company raise money without paying interest and with less dilution of current shareholders compared to a typical share sale. It also allows the company to increase its Bitcoin holdings in a cautious and balanced way.
Smarter Web hinted that more Bitcoin-denominated bonds could be offered in future, possibly with TOBAM or other investors. The firm thinks the structure has the potential to revolutionize capital-raising, particularly for tech companies such as itself.
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