MEI Pharma Inc., a San Diego-based clinical-stage biotechnology company, has converted the bulk of its balance-sheet cash into cryptocurrency, purchasing 929,548 Litecoin tokens for about $100 million at an average price of $107.58 each. The transaction follows the closing of a $100 million private placement last month that was led by Litecoin founder Charlie Lee and digital-asset trading firm GSR. The move makes MEI Pharma the first Nasdaq-listed company to designate Litecoin as its primary treasury asset, expanding a trend that began with corporations adding Bitcoin to their reserves. The company said the strategy is intended to preserve shareholder value and provide exposure to what it sees as a maturing digital-asset class. Litecoin briefly climbed to $128.40 on Tuesday, the highest level in five months, before trading around $123.60. The token has gained more than 40% this month, with analysts attributing the rally to MEI Pharma’s buy-in and rising odds—estimated at roughly 80% on prediction markets—of a U.S. exchange-traded fund tied to the cryptocurrency being approved this year.