A significant buzz is circulating in the financial world after Eightco Holdings, a company listed on Nasdaq, announced a major strategic shift. The firm revealed a $250 million private placement. Its goal is to set up what it calls the first public treasury focused on Worldcoin. This big news sent Worldcoin’s digital token, WLD, soaring. It jumped 32% in just 24 hours, hitting a high of $1.39 from a low of $1, according to CoinGecko.
The announcement also included a $20 million strategic investment from BitMine Immersion Technologies. Eightco plans to issue about 171.2 million common shares for $1.46 each. BitMine bought 13.6 million of these shares at the same price. This hefty funding round was led by MOZAYYX. It also drew in big names like World Foundation, Discovery Capital Management, FalconX, Kraken, Pantera, and Brevan Howard, as detailed in a press release from Eightco.
A Bold Bet on Worldcoin’s Future
The main idea behind this cash infusion is to buy WLD tokens for Eightco’s treasury. This means Worldcoin will become the company’s main corporate reserve asset. While the treasury will also hold cash and Ethereum (ETH) as backup assets, WLD will be the star. This move is a big step for Worldcoin. The project uses iris scanning technology to create digital identity credentials, acting as a “proof of humanity.”
To support this new direction, Eightco Holdings brought in Dan Ives, a well-known tech analyst and expert in artificial intelligence. He will now serve as the chairman of Eightco’s board of directors. The company also intends to change its Nasdaq ticker symbol to “ORBS.” This change is set to happen around September 11, which is when the private placement is expected to close. Ives shared his excitement, saying, “I am very excited to be named chairman of Eightco Holdings Inc., marking the next step in the revolution of authentication and proof of humanity.”
Worldcoin’s Rapid Growth and Reach
This corporate backing comes at a time when Worldcoin is experiencing a surge in popularity. A report from CoinDesk shows that over 530,000 new users joined the network in the last seven days. This marks the biggest weekly increase in a long time. The total number of verified users now stands at more than 33.5 million. Activity on Worldcoin wallets also hit new highs, with 31.6 million transactions processed in the same period. Daily transaction volumes topped two million for the first time ever.
Worldcoin was co-founded by Sam Altman and Alex Blania. The project has created roughly 16 million zero-knowledge proof of humanity accounts across more than 45 countries, Eightco’s statement noted. Altman has big dreams for the project. He stated, “If we succeed in our mission, World could become the largest network of real people online, fundamentally transforming how we interact and transact on the internet.”
Beyond user growth, Worldcoin is also strengthening its technology. It recently added the Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología de Perú (UTEC) to its Anonymous Multiparty Computation (AMPC) system. This system, launched in May, boosts privacy when people get verified by the “Orbs”—Worldcoin’s eye-scanning devices. It processes data locally and spreads encrypted bits among different, independent nodes. Bringing UTEC onboard helps Worldcoin grow in Latin America and makes its verification system more spread out and robust.
WLD Joins the Corporate Crypto Treasury Trend
Despite its recent jump, WLD’s price of $1.40 is still 85% below its all-time high of $11.74, which it reached in March 2024, according to CoinGecko. However, this new institutional support and growing user numbers point to a fresh wave of momentum for the project.
Eightco’s treasury plan, with backing from BitMine and other major investors, places Worldcoin squarely in a growing trend. More and more public companies are using cryptocurrencies as assets for their treasuries. Over 180 companies have built treasury strategies around Bitcoin. Others are choosing different digital coins like ETH, Solana, and XRP. MicroStrategy leads the pack in corporate crypto treasuries, holding 638,460 BTC. That’s worth a staggering $71.5 billion after its most recent purchase this week. BitMine comes in second, with an Ethereum treasury valued at nearly $9 billion.