Dan Ives-backed Eightco sees stock explode nearly 3,000% after unveiling Worldcoin treasury strategy

Eightco Holdings (OCTO) stock surged nearly 3,000% on Monday after the company announced plans to pursue a Worldcoin (WDC-USD) treasury strategy, making it the latest public company to flip its balance sheet into a warehouse for digital currencies.

The company said Monday it would sell $250 million worth of stock in a private placement transaction to buy up Worldcoin tokens. Worldcoin is the token of the World network, which was co-founded by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI (OPAI.PVT).

As part of its transaction, Eightco also named tech analyst Dan Ives as its board chair. Ives has become one of the most prominent tech analysts on the Street during the AI boom, known in particular for his bullishness around Nvidia (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA), among other tech giants.

Ives, an analyst with investment firm Wedbush, also launched an ETF — the Dan IVES Wedbush AI Revolution ETF (IVES) — earlier this year.

Eightco is following the digital asset treasury strategy pioneered by Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR), which has for years purchased bitcoin (BTC-USD) to hold on its balance sheet. Eightco said in its press release that it may also use the proceeds from its sale to buy bitcoin and ethereum.

Shares in Eightco, priced at $1.46 in the private placement, were trading as high as $76 on Monday afternoon.

Ethereum (ETH-USD) treasury company BitMine Immersion (BMNR), which is the largest corporate holder of ethereum and saw its stock soar earlier this year when it announced Fundstrat founder Tom Lee would join its board, said it would buy $20 million worth of Eightco stock as part of its private placement.

“The future of AI requires World to lead the way in this AI-driven Fourth Industrial Revolution,” Ives said in the press release. “World is the internet of people. While AI gives us infinite abundance, World gives us infinite trust and authentication.”

Read more: Can you buy crypto with a credit card? See the pros and cons.

World uses Orb iris-scanning technology to validate identities in exchange for Worldcoin tokens. As part of the transaction, Eightco will also change its ticker to ORBS, effective Sept. 11.

“The Orbs are the hardware backbone of Worldcoin, verifying unique humans, distributing tokens fairly, and creating a trusted digital identity system for the AI era,” the company wrote in Monday’s press release. “As the globe begins the AI Revolution buildout, World will be a leading verification platform for consumers around the world.”

The digital asset treasury strategy has surged in popularity this year, with crypto assets becoming more mainstream and companies feeling increasingly emboldened to find creative ways to gain exposure to this asset class.