Empery Digital exits Bitcoin treasury for AI data center
Empery Digital sold nearly half its Bitcoin holdings to fund an AI data center venture, a pivot investors rewarded as corporate crypto treasury strategies lose favor.
Empery Digital sold 1,400 Bitcoin over the past two months at an average price of $62,200 per coin, generating roughly $87.1 million in proceeds. The Round Rock, Texas-based firm used the capital to acquire a 25% stake in a Hunt Properties-affiliated venture that is converting an industrial site into an AI data center. An additional $10 million was used to pay off outstanding corporate debt.
Wall Street reacted favorably to the balance sheet restructuring, with EMPD shares surging 4.2% to $3.95 within the first 35 minutes of Nasdaq trading on Friday. While the stock retraced to close at $3.86, up 1.58% on the day, the initial rally underscores a clear market preference. Investors are actively rewarding companies that pivot capital away from volatile cryptocurrency treasuries and toward artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The sale effectively ends a strategy Empery adopted in mid-2025, when Bitcoin was surging toward an October all-time high of $126,080. After reaching peak holdings of 4,081 BTC, the former electric powersports vehicle manufacturer has now offloaded assets across March, April, and recent months. The company’s remaining stash of 1,514 Bitcoin is currently worth about $97 million.
Unloading the digital assets also defuses a brewing governance dispute with a major activist investor. Tice P. Brown, who holds a near-10% stake in Empery, had spent months publicly demanding the firm completely abandon its crypto acquisitions. Furthermore, Brown had called for the immediate resignation of the chief executive and the entire board of directors.
Empery’s pivot reflects growing public market skepticism regarding corporate Bitcoin hoarding, a sentiment mirrored by Strategy, the largest corporate holder of the token. Strategy recently abandoned its "never sell your Bitcoin" doctrine, offloading 3,588 coins for $216 million to cover dividends for its Stretch perpetual preferred stock. That preferred issue broke from its $100 par value to trade below $75, sparking sustainability fears, though Strategy’s share price similarly climbed following its sale.
