Ultra x NOIA: Smart Capital Meets Deep Infra

In April 2025, Ultra ($UOS) received a $12M strategic investment from NOIA Capital, a Luxembourg-based multi-family office with a long-term, value-driven approach to infrastructure investing.

While the announcement drew modest headlines, a closer look reveals something far more meaningful: This wasn’t a speculative punt. It was a structured entry by a firm known for turning overlooked complexity into long-term compounding value.

Who Is NOIA Capital?

NOIA Capital is a private investment firm managing ~$300M across four verticals:

1. Digital Assets Fund (launched 2019) — 800%+ return since inception

2. LFG Long/Short Small Cap Equity — focused on cash flow compounders

3. Liquid Alternatives (hedge fund FoF)

4. Direct Deals — private equity, growth carveouts, M&A

   
   

They are:

• Deeply regulated, with registrations in Luxembourg (CSSF), Belgium (FSMA), and UAE (VARA)

• Small and tactical, with 5–10 team members

• Owner-led, with over 80% of AUM being their own capital

From Improbable's defense tech spinout to overlooked Eastern European software, NOIA makes money in places others don’t usually look. Their Digital Assets fund takes the same approach: focus on infrastructure, enforceable economic models, and full-stack potential.

Why Ultra? Why Now?

Ultra isn’t just a gaming token. It’s a vertically integrated infrastructure platform with:

• A custom high-throughput blockchain

• RAM and POWER as enforceable token sinks

• NFT factories with on-chain royalties and taxes

• A native bridge, fiat ramps (Vaulta), and zk privacy (Cloak)

It’s deeply built. Hard to narrative. Easy to overlook.

That’s exactly where NOIA shines.

🧾 Verified by NOIA

At their 2025 investor conference, Ultra was listed among the firm’s high-conviction Digital Asset investments:

“Ultra: Gaming infrastructure platform (Estonia). Revitalised leadership, full-stack infra.”

The “revitalised leadership” refers to the appointment of CEO Gus van Rijckevorsel. “Full-stack infra” reflects Ultra’s ambition to own the full lifecycle of gaming infrastructure — from identity and distribution to financial rails.

This wasn’t a passive allocation. As NOIA stated:

“We did deep diligence, watched how the stack evolved, and when the flywheel started moving, we got involved.”

With a $12M investment, Ultra is NOIA’s third-largest crypto allocation to date — behind only Komainu ($25M) and Arianee ($21M). But unlike Arianee, which spans both NOIA’s Digital Assets and Direct Deals portfolios, Ultra is held exclusively in the Digital Assets fund.

That distinction is important. NOIA’s Direct Deals strategy typically involves equity, governance, or control rights. Their Digital Assets fund, by contrast, focuses on token-based exposure to blockchain infrastructure — favoring enforceable value capture, liquid entry, and strategic flexibility.

Ultra’s placement here — as a pure token-stage position — aligns with its architecture: value is captured not through corporate equity, but through protocol-level mechanisms embedded in the $UOS token itself. (Read: NOIA’s upside is directly tied to token performance — they benefit only if $UOS appreciates.)

According to materials presented at NOIA’s 2025 Investor Day, Ultra accounts for ~1.3% of the Digital Assets fund, placing it firmly in the fund’s upper tier. It is, by all evidence, one of NOIA’s most substantial crypto-native token positions to date.

What the On-Chain Data Reveals

NOIA's investment was announced on April 3, 2025. But if you look at the blockchain and HTX trading data, you can see it coming:

• Jan 29: Ultra Treasury receives 18.7M UOS from internal distribution wallet

• Mar 1: Treasury receives another 8.2M UOS

• Mar 10: Volume on HTX surges

• Apr 3: NOIA investment goes public

Zooming out - Between late January and February 2025, Ultra’s treasury wallet received over 35 million UOS in fresh inflows — the largest accumulation window in years. These movements began shortly after Gus became CEO and preceded the volume explosion on HTX.

These inflows weren’t signs of exit. Treasury inflows accelerated post-announcement. The behavior matches structured accumulation, likely for staking, partner vesting, or growth funding.

This is how institutional entry usually looks:

Internal repositioning → silent accumulation → delayed public disclosure

One wallet in particular stands out — holding ~157M $UOS (of their estimated 260M position) and showing behavior that aligns closely with NOIA’s typical strategy. 👇

✅ The Upside: Why NOIA Might Be Perfect for Ultra

1. They Thrive on Complexity

NOIA pursues cap-table-constrained, misunderstood assets — and Ultra's infra (RAM, POWER, Vaulta, Cloak) fits that mold perfectly.

2. They Know Tokens, Not Just Equity

NOIA DA is a crypto-native fund with deep understanding of tokenomics and hybrid structures. They're not tourists — and they invest with tokens in mind, not just SAFEs or shares.

3. They Prefer Optionality

No fund deployment pressure. NOIA moves when setups are right — which aligns with Ultra's deliberate go-to-market timeline.

4. They Excel in Downturns

NOIA was most active in 2022–2023 when others were risk-off. Ultra remains mispriced relative to infra maturity — a classic NOIA setup.

⚠️ The Risks: Why They Might Not Be a Fit

1. They’re Not Passive

Even as a token-only investor, NOIA has a history of active involvement. They’ve pushed for operational changes before, and reportedly delayed Ultra’s tokenomics release. Influence may come through access, not formal control.

2. They Seek Liquidity Optionality

NOIA values liquidity — not to rush exits, but to preserve flexibility. When a position becomes profitable, they may partially scale back rather than fully hold or exit. This de-risking approach is common in their strategy and allows them to recycle capital while staying involved.

For Ultra, this means NOIA might reduce exposure if the token runs ahead of fundamentals — even if they still believe in the long-term thesis.

3. They May Not Amplify the Brand

NOIA doesn’t do hype. They’re execution-focused and media-shy. Don’t expect them to bring retail excitement.

4. Governance Alignment Isn't Guaranteed

With no board seat or equity claim, NOIA’s influence is informal — but if optimal strategy ever conflicts with tokenholder sentiment, they’ll likely prioritize capital efficiency over community process. It’s pragmatic, not ideological.

🧠 Investor Takeaways

This wasn’t a soft VC check. It was a structured bet on deep infrastructure, led by a fund that’s already compounding on-chain and off.

Despite daily trading volume rising from 600k to over 20 million UOS on HTX in March, the price barely moved. This suggests significant strategic liquidity management — with market makers or internal treasury activity absorbing and matching buy pressure. In other words, this wasn’t retail speculation — it was planned structure.

For $UOS holders, the signal is strong:

Serious capital is here. And it moved before the headlines.

The question is no longer why NOIA picked Ultra. It’s whether Ultra and its tokenholders are ready for what comes next.

What to Watch

Signal	Why It Matters
📈 Early-stage inflows or stake changes	Could indicate institutional positioning
🧩 Deal structuring or tokenomics shifts	May hint at NOIA-style recapitalization
🧰 Quiet execution > marketing	Signals behind-the-scenes value building
📋 New wallets linked to treasury/ops	Look for capital restructuring moves

NOIA isn’t here for hype. They’re here for value extraction, complexity arbitrage, and strategic alignment.

That could be exactly what Ultra needs — but only if the team, and the tokenholders, are aligned on where it’s going.

Smart capital has moved early, yet even Ultra’s most loyal supporters — including members of the Community Advisory Board — remain cautious, citing limited transparency and communication.

In the end, the success of this partnership won’t be decided by the size of the check. It’ll be decided by how well infrastructure, execution, and community trust converge.

As Ultra put it: “This raise is only just the beginning.” With capital in hand, new leadership in place, and NOIA at their back — the real work now begins.