Prenetics has dropped its Bitcoin plan, ending its Bitcoin treasury strategy to focus on its IM8 supplement brand.
The Nasdaq-listed health sciences company said on 30 December it would no longer acquire Bitcoin and would instead concentrate on IM8, which it said had reached US$100m in annualised recurring revenue in 11 months.
However, Prenetics chief executive Danny Yeung said in a statement: “The phenomenal success of IM8 has exceeded all expectations and scaled much faster than our original expectations.
“Our Board and management team unanimously agreed that the most promising path to creating significant, sustainable shareholder value is to devote our undivided attention to this once-in-a-generation opportunity clearly visible in IM8.”
Prenetics launched its Bitcoin treasury strategy in June, announcing the purchase of US$20m worth of BTC and the appointment of former OKX operating chief Andy Cheung to its board.
Yeung said at the time: “We’re at the dawn of a new era where genomics, personalised medicine, and digital assets will intersect in ways that could revolutionise how we approach human health, longevity and wealth.”
“To execute this vision at scale, we need substantial Bitcoin holdings, which is why we’re building one of the most significant Bitcoin treasuries in healthcare.”
Prenetics also said it would eventually accept cryptocurrency payments on its customer-facing platforms, such as IM8 Health.
In October, the company said it had raised US$48m from investors including cryptocurrency exchange Kraken and wallet provider Exodus, in part to support its Bitcoin treasury strategy.
It said it intended to reach US$1bn in annualised revenue and US$1bn in Bitcoin holdings.
Prenetics said it held US$70m in cash and 510 BTC worth nearly US$46m as of 30 December.
The decision to abandon its Bitcoin strategy coincides with months-long weakness in the cryptocurrency market.
Bitcoin fell as much as 36 per cent in October from a record price of US$126,000 to a low of US$80,600 and has since failed to recover significantly above the lows.
Prenetics’ stock was most recently trading near US$16, up over 180 per cent in the past year.
