Eightco Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: OCTO) announced a radical corporate pivot on September 8, 2025, revealing plans to build its treasury strategy around Worldcoin (WLD) tokens. The obscure e-commerce firm secured a $250 million private placement specifically to acquire WLD, marking the first corporate treasury strategy built around the controversial digital identity project.
The move was backed by a $20 million strategic investment from cryptocurrency miner BitMine Immersion Technologies, which described the deal as its first "moonshot" investment aimed at supporting innovative projects within the Ethereum ecosystem. The private placement was led by investment firm MOZAYYX with financial advisory from Cantor Fitzgerald, and attracted capital from major institutions including Pantera, Brevan Howard, Kraken, and the World Foundation itself.
Wall Street analyst Dan Ives, newly appointed chairman of Eightco, championed the strategy, stating: "I see Worldcoin as a tech infrastructure play, not a crypto investment. It's the intersection of AI and crypto. A key part of the AI revolution will be the authentication and trust layer—and that's what World provides." Ives emphasized that Worldcoin is "significantly undervalued relative to the potential opportunity."
The market reacted dramatically to the news. Eightco's stock surged more than 3,000%, closing at $45.08 after reaching intraday highs of $83.12. Meanwhile, Worldcoin's price jumped 49% to $1.54, reaching a seven-month high after trading as low as $1.03 earlier in the day. The token found support around $1.49 as traders anticipated substantial buying pressure from Eightco's forthcoming acquisitions.
Eightco plans to change its Nasdaq ticker from OCTO to ORBS on September 11, 2025, pending standard closing conditions and Nasdaq authorization. The new ticker references the Orb, Worldcoin's iris-scanning device that verifies users as human. While the treasury's primary focus is Worldcoin, the company acknowledged it may also hold cash and Ethereum as secondary reserve assets.