Empery Digital Dumps Bitcoin Strategy: $65 Million Bet on AI Data Center
Cryptopolitan reported on July 2 that Nasdaq-listed company Empery Digital (NASDAQ: EMPD) announced it is abandoning its bitcoin treasury strategy. Instead, it plans to spend $65 million to acquire a 25% stake in an AI data center in the U.S. Midwest—marking the first clear strategy reversal among the group of bitcoin-treasury imitators associated with Michael Saylor. In the past, Empery accumulated more than 4,000 BTC at an average price of over $117,000. After BTC fell below $70,000, the company’s paper loss exceeded 40%. The company’s major shareholder, Tice P. Brown, publicly called on CEO Ryan Lane to step down and to fully liquidate its crypto assets.
The turning point: a 40% book loss + pressure on the CEO to resign
Empery initially operated as an electric vehicle manufacturer before pivoting into a bitcoin treasury company, copying the BTC accumulation model of Michael Saylor, chairman of MicroStrategy. In the past, the company accumulated more than 4,000 BTC at an average price of over $117,000. Earlier this year, BTC briefly dropped below $70,000, and the company’s unrealized losses widened to over 40%. The major shareholder Tice P. Brown, who holds about 10% of the shares, issued an open letter demanding that CEO Ryan Lane resign and that the company fully liquidate its crypto holdings. When BTC further sank, Empery was forced to sell 370 BTC at roughly $66,632 per coin to repay a $105 million margin loan. The company currently still holds 2,914 BTC.
New direction: a 150MW data center in the Midwest, $230 million total price
Empery announced it will invest $65 million to buy a 25% stake in a Midwest AI data center. The site currently has about 150 MW of power capacity and can be expanded to 300 MW. Partner Hunt Properties (a Dallas-based real estate company) holds another 75% through its subsidiary TexStack Infrastructure, and the total property purchase price is about $230 million. Empery has already paid $2.9 million in initial capital. The remaining $62.1 million will be paid on the closing date in Q3 2026, and due diligence must be completed by July 29. In addition, the company simultaneously announced it would remove the bitcoin treasury dashboard, stating that “the metric can no longer fully reflect the company’s total NAV.”
DAT’s plot twist: the first reversal in the Saylor imitator camp
Empery is the first case of an explicit reversal among bitcoin-treasury imitators of Saylor’s strategy. Over the past 12–18 months, these companies have shared a common pattern: purchasing BTC through equity or debt financing, trading their stock at a premium with the market treating them as “bitcoin-exposed” businesses, and expecting NAV to rise by keeping BTC gains going. Empery’s case shows that when BTC falls below the cost range, shareholders may push the company to abandon its strategy—where a 40% book loss plus a major shareholder’s public letter becomes the key catalyst.
Earlier reports covered MicroStrategy’s mNAV arbitrage strategy when mNAV fell below 1, along with another story about Anthropic betting on AI for drug discovery. Empery’s double-transition case—from EV to BTC to AI—reflects a rising frequency of small listed companies switching narratives during the post-SVB/post-BTC peak period.
This article, Empery Digital Dumps Bitcoin Strategy: $65 Million Bet on an AI Data Center, first appeared on .
Cryptopolitan reported on July 2 that Nasdaq-listed company Empery Digital (NASDAQ: EMPD) announced it is abandoning its bitcoin treasury strategy. Instead, it plans to spend $65 million to acquire a 25% stake in an AI data center in the U.S. Midwest—marking the first clear strategy reversal among the group of bitcoin-treasury imitators associated with Michael Saylor. In the past, Empery accumulated more than 4,000 BTC at an average price of over $117,000. After BTC fell below $70,000, the company’s paper loss exceeded 40%. The company’s major shareholder, Tice P. Brown, publicly called on CEO Ryan Lane to step down and to fully liquidate its crypto assets.
The turning point: a 40% book loss + pressure on the CEO to resign
Empery initially operated as an electric vehicle manufacturer before pivoting into a bitcoin treasury company, copying the BTC accumulation model of Michael Saylor, chairman of MicroStrategy. In the past, the company accumulated more than 4,000 BTC at an average price of over $117,000. Earlier this year, BTC briefly dropped below $70,000, and the company’s unrealized losses widened to over 40%. The major shareholder Tice P. Brown, who holds about 10% of the shares, issued an open letter demanding that CEO Ryan Lane resign and that the company fully liquidate its crypto holdings. When BTC further sank, Empery was forced to sell 370 BTC at roughly $66,632 per coin to repay a $105 million margin loan. The company currently still holds 2,914 BTC.
New direction: a 150MW data center in the Midwest, $230 million total price
Empery announced it will invest $65 million to buy a 25% stake in a Midwest AI data center. The site currently has about 150 MW of power capacity and can be expanded to 300 MW. Partner Hunt Properties (a Dallas-based real estate company) holds another 75% through its subsidiary TexStack Infrastructure, and the total property purchase price is about $230 million. Empery has already paid $2.9 million in initial capital. The remaining $62.1 million will be paid on the closing date in Q3 2026, and due diligence must be completed by July 29. In addition, the company simultaneously announced it would remove the bitcoin treasury dashboard, stating that “the metric can no longer fully reflect the company’s total NAV.”
DAT’s plot twist: the first reversal in the Saylor imitator camp
Empery is the first case of an explicit reversal among bitcoin-treasury imitators of Saylor’s strategy. Over the past 12–18 months, these companies have shared a common pattern: purchasing BTC through equity or debt financing, trading their stock at a premium with the market treating them as “bitcoin-exposed” businesses, and expecting NAV to rise by keeping BTC gains going. Empery’s case shows that when BTC falls below the cost range, shareholders may push the company to abandon its strategy—where a 40% book loss plus a major shareholder’s public letter becomes the key catalyst.
Earlier reports covered MicroStrategy’s mNAV arbitrage strategy when mNAV fell below 1, along with another story about Anthropic betting on AI for drug discovery. Empery’s double-transition case—from EV to BTC to AI—reflects a rising frequency of small listed companies switching narratives during the post-SVB/post-BTC peak period.
This article, Empery Digital Dumps Bitcoin Strategy: $65 Million Bet on an AI Data Center, first appeared on .