Prenetics (PRE), a health-sciences firm that secured $48 million earlier this year, partly to establish a bitcoin treasury, has announced a halt in BTC purchases due to ongoing downturns in the cryptocurrency market.
The organization initiated its bitcoin acquisition strategy in June, adopting a model put forward by Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc, in which companies raise capital to acquire and retain crypto assets. This business approach gained momentum earlier this year as cryptocurrency values surged, but interest waned following the sharp market decline in October.
On Oct. 27, Prenetics’ CEO and co-founder Danny Yeung revealed the funding round, with stakeholders including Kraken, Exodus (EXOD), GPTX, and American Ventures. He stated that the proceeds would facilitate the global expansion of its “IM8” enterprise while accumulating 1 BTC daily towards a target of $1 billion in revenue and bitcoin over five years.
Nonetheless, the company announced on Tuesday that it ceased bitcoin purchases on Dec. 4 to concentrate its resources solely on IM8, which it claims has generated over $100 million in annualized recurring revenue (ARR) since its inception 11 months ago.
“The remarkable success of IM8 has far surpassed expectations and scaled much more rapidly than we initially envisaged,” Yeung explained. “Our board and management have unanimously decided that the most promising avenue for generating significant, sustainable shareholder value is to focus exclusively on this clear opportunity in IM8.”
Prenetics, co-founded and supported by English football legend David Beckham, stated it will not allocate any current or new funds for buying more bitcoin. Nonetheless, it plans to retain its existing 510 bitcoin as a reserve asset, valued at nearly $45 million as of Tuesday afternoon ET.
Prenetics shares have surged 189% this year, in contrast to Michael Saylor’s MSTR, which fell nearly 48%, while bitcoin decreased by approximately 5.6%.
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