12.3 Bitcoin sold for A$1.37 million and held as cash

Locate Technologies liquidates entire Bitcoin holding

Locate Technologies Limited (NZX:LOC) has abandoned its short-term Bitcoin accumulation strategy, selling all 12.3 BTC for proceeds of A$1,370,175.79, or approximately NZ$1,718,200. The sale was completed after market on 30 October, with the proceeds now held in Australian dollars.

The move reverses the board's stated intention, disclosed on 6 October, to continue accumulating Bitcoin. Locate said it no longer holds Bitcoin or any other digital assets, although it has not ruled out returning to the asset in future.

Quantum-computing risk drives the strategic reversal

The board said it still sees long-term merit in Bitcoin, but believes the security risks around digital assets have become harder to assess as artificial intelligence advances. It singled out quantum computing as a specific concern, arguing that sufficiently powerful quantum computers could eventually break the cryptography on which Bitcoin relies.

Proposals for quantum-resistant Bitcoin infrastructure are being developed, according to the announcement, but Locate said uncertainty remains over which changes will be adopted, how they will be implemented and when. The company therefore chose to liquidate the holding “in the short term”, rather than wait for those questions to be resolved.

Cash replaces digital assets as software gains momentum

Locate framed the sale as a balance-sheet decision made alongside improving operating performance. The company said its software business is performing strongly and pointed to its first quarterly profit as a listed company in Q1 FY27, without disclosing the profit figure in this announcement.

Its two operating platforms are Locate2u, a route optimisation and delivery management service, and Zoom2u, an Australian on-demand courier marketplace. Locate said AI features are deployed in Locate2u and used internally in Zoom2u's dispatch and logistics operations, making the board's comments about accelerating technology progress particularly relevant to the company's own business focus.

Deployment of A$1.37 million remains undecided

For now, the proceeds will remain in cash while the board considers how they should be deployed over the coming months. The announcement does not disclose the Bitcoin acquisition cost, any realised gain or loss, transaction fees or the exchange rate used for the NZ-dollar estimate.

That leaves two separate questions for the market: whether the sale changes the company's reported earnings or cash position beyond the stated proceeds, and whether the board's decision marks a temporary pause or a more durable retreat from digital-asset treasury holdings. Locate said it will keep the market informed as its cash strategy develops.