A group of bitcoin investors led by Jeff Booth, Lyn Alden, and Ricardo Salinas raised $40 million to launch a permanent capital company called ORANGE JUICE that buys small businesses and puts a portion of their profits into bitcoin.
Key Takeaways
Ricardo Salinas anchored a $40 million raise for a bitcoin treasury firm dubbed ORANGE JUICE on July 15, 2026.The company targets businesses with $1 million to $10 million in annual cash flow.Ruben Zweiban will run daily operations after careers at BofA, JP Morgan and the Navy.Nico Lechuga, one of the founding partners, said the model addresses a gap left by traditional buyout funds.
“Building a business takes decades,” Lechuga said. “Founders deserve more than one path when it’s time to transition ownership.”
Cash Flow Feeds the Bitcoin TreasuryThe company also plans to build an in-house team to help acquired businesses adopt artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Executives said AI is driving one of the largest productivity shifts in decades and that portfolio companies need support navigating it.
Public Listing Planned, But Not as an ExitORANGE JUICE intends to pursue a public listing at some point. Unlike a typical initial public offering (IPO) used to cash out early investors, executives framed the listing as a way to give the company a liquid currency for deals and access to capital markets while keeping its holdings intact.
The United States faces a wave of business ownership transitions in the coming decades as owners age out of companies they built. Traditional private equity has drawn criticism for loading acquired businesses with debt and cutting costs aggressively to hit return targets within a fixed fund window. The new company is positioning itself as an option for owners who want their business kept intact rather than flipped.
