By Contributor,Jon Kopaloff,Trefis Team

Copyright forbes

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 07: Dan Ives, Chairman Eightco Holdings using Orb at Eightco Holdings (OCTO) is the Treasury Company of World (WLD) at Hyatt Huntington Beach on September 07, 2025 in Huntington Beach, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: OCTO) and World Foundation)
Getty Images for Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: OCTO) and World Foundation

Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: OCTO), an obscure e-commerce firm, experienced a staggering increase of over 3,000% in its share price during Monday’s trading session after revealing its strategy to establish a treasury focused on Worldcoin, the digital asset supported by OpenAI’s Sam Altman. The firm announced that it had secured $20 million in investments from crypto miner BitMine, while also disclosing a private placement of 171.2 million shares at $1.46 each. This offering, spearheaded by Mozayyx with support from the World Foundation, aims to acquire Worldcoin tokens. The excitement surrounding the announcement propelled Eightco’s stock from its Friday closing price of $1.43 to an intraday high of $83.12 – marking a surge of over 5,000% at one point – before it settled at $45.08 by the end of the trading day. Concurrently, Worldcoin experienced a rise of over 40%, achieving a market capitalization of roughly $3 billion, according to CoinMarketCap, as the substantial demand from Eightco increased prices and interest. Eightco also suggested the possibility of adding Ether as a secondary reserve asset. Separately, Should You Buy Or Fear Trump-family backed American Bitcoin Stock?

A Risky Gamble

Currently, strategies involving crypto treasuries carry considerable risks. Companies publicly traded outside the digital asset sector have increasingly adopted this approach, dedicating a portion of their cash reserves to cryptocurrencies in hopes of benefiting from rising token prices and more lenient regulatory environments under the Trump Administration. This tactic also helps these companies draw in more tech-oriented investors. Many aim to replicate the notable success of MicroStrategy – now known as Strategy – which began accumulating Bitcoin in 2020 and has since amassed holdings valued at several tens of billions of dollars.

Companies like Strategy command a premium over their underlying crypto assets, as the markets believe they can exploit credit markets to further increase their crypto portfolios. However, this strategy is inherently speculative. Cryptocurrencies are notoriously volatile, with prices capable of experiencing dramatic fluctuations over short timeframes. Should token prices crash, firms that have tied up substantial portions of their balance sheets might face potential liquidity crises. These investments also contribute little to enhancing a company’s core business operations, especially when numerous tokens are trading near all-time highs. Even after Monday’s surge, Eightco maintains a market capitalization of less than $140 million, positioning it squarely in the microcap category.

Although Eightco appears to be a highly speculative investment, the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, which consists of 30 stocks, has demonstrated a consistent track record of outperforming its benchmark, which includes all three indices – S&P 500, Russell, and S&P midcap. What accounts for this? On the whole, the stocks within the HQ Portfolio yield better returns while incurring less risk compared to the benchmark index; they present a smoother investment journey, as illustrated in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.

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