New Validator Performance Achieves $1.5M in Staking $IP Token Rewards in First Two Weeks of Operation (Form 8-K)

New Validator Performance Achieves $1.5M in Staking $IP Token Rewards in First Two Weeks of Operation

Gig Harbor, WA - [Thursday, October 2, 2025] - IP Strategy (Nasdaq: IPST) (the "Company"), the first company to adopt a treasury reserve policy centered on the $IP token, today announced the official launch of its validator business on the Story Network. The validator business provides IP Strategy with an attractive new source of potential high-growth recurring revenue and strengthens its position as both a participant in and supporter of the programmable IP economy.

By building its own validator infrastructure, IP Strategy can stake $IP tokens directly without paying third-party fees while maintaining complete control over security and performance. After just two weeks of testing, starting September 6, 2025, and going live on September 18, 2025, the Company has self-staked 43.5 million unlocked $IP tokens and earned nearly 165,000 $IP tokens in validator rewards, worth approximately $1.5M[1].

IP Strategy's validator business is expected to be highly profitable to the Company: staking its current 43.5 million unlocked $IP tokens at an estimated blended yield of approximately 6% has the potential to generate an estimated 3.2 million $IP tokens annually if the estimated blended yield remains the same. This would equate to approximately $28.5 million in illustrative potential annualized revenues[2], accompanied by an estimated fixed cost basis of $400,000-$500,000. With gross margins estimated to be above 95%, the self-staking validator business provides a scalable, recurring revenue stream that is expected to strengthen IP Strategy's balance sheet and position the Company to capture additional growth as staking participation expands.

In addition to staking its own treasury assets through this new validator business, IP Strategy has begun onboarding third-party participants who stake their $IP tokens on IP Strategy's validator. The Company will earn commissions on these deposits, creating another recurring and scalable revenue stream.

The Company expects to expand its staking activity significantly in the months ahead and plans to provide regular updates as additional $IP tokens and revenues are earned through its validator infrastructure.

What is a validator business? In proof-of-stake blockchains such as the Story Network, validators are responsible for securing the network, confirming transactions, and maintaining uptime. In return, validators earn token rewards. Running a validator business enables IP Strategy to not only generate yield on its own $IP token holdings but also potentially attract additional staking from other $IP token holders who seek reliable infrastructure. This positions IP Strategy at the center of the Story Network's economic activity, with a business model that aligns long-term $IP token value growth with stockholder value creation.

"Launching the validator business demonstrates how IP Strategy is evolving from simply holding $IP as a reserve asset to actively generating recurring revenue from it," said Seung Yoon "SY" Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of PIP Labs and Chairman of the IP Strategy Advisory Board. "With leading infrastructure and security, we're well-positioned to become the preferred validator for institutions and

third parties participating in the Story Network. This business adds a sustainable, attractive revenue stream while deepening our alignment with the programmable IP economy in the age of AI."

The validator launch follows IP Strategy's transition to a digital asset treasury strategy, which added more than 53.2 million $IP tokens to the balance sheet and eliminated all senior secured debt. Taken together, these steps strengthen IP Strategy's financial position and broaden its growth opportunities, providing equity investors with direct access to the $80 trillion programmable intellectual property economy through a transparent, regulated equity structure.

About IP Strategy

IP Strategy (Nasdaq: IPST) is the first Nasdaq-listed company to hold $IP tokens as a primary reserve asset. Through this strategy, IP Strategy offers public market investors broad exposure to the $80 trillion programmable intellectual property economy in a regulated equity format. The Company's treasury reserve of $IP tokens provides direct participation in the Story blockchain ecosystem, which enables on-chain registration, licensing, and monetization of intellectual property. IP Strategy hosts a public dashboard showing its $IP tokens owned, market cap, NAV, and mNAV metrics for interested investors here: https://ipstrategy.co/treasury-dashboard.

Heritage Distilling Holding Company, Inc. is the registered corporate name of IP Strategy.