Empery Digital has sold roughly half of its bitcoin, and it is spending the money on artificial intelligence infrastructure instead of more coins. The company disclosed in an SEC filing this week, first reported by CoinDesk, that it sold 1,400 BTC since May 7 at an average price of about $62,200, raising $87.1 million. It used $10 million of that to repay debt on July 7 and has earmarked most of the remainder for a $65 million property deal tied to a Midwest AI data center project. Empery still holds 1,514 BTC, worth roughly $96.5 million, plus about $73.9 million in cash, but it says it does not intend to buy more bitcoin and may sell additional coins.
A bitcoin treasury company is a publicly traded firm whose core business is buying and holding bitcoin on its balance sheet, funded by issuing stock or debt rather than by selling a product. Empery was built on that model. It is now walking away from it.
Key takeaways
- Empery Digital sold 1,400 BTC since May 7 at an average of about $62,200, netting $87.1 million.
- Proceeds are funding a $65 million property deal for a 25% stake in a Midwest AI data center with 150 MW of existing power capacity.
- The company holds 1,514 BTC and $73.9 million in cash, and says it has no plans to buy more bitcoin.
- Empery is the latest treasury firm to sell into weakness as 13 of the 18 largest digital asset treasuries trade below the value of their own coins.
Published: July 13, 2026, 09:15 UTC
Why a bitcoin treasury company is buying power capacity
The pitch behind treasury companies only works when the stock trades above the coins. Investors buy the shares at a premium, the company issues more stock, buys more bitcoin per share, and the premium compounds. That machine has stalled.
The measure that matters here is mNAV, the ratio of a treasury company’s market value to the value of its crypto holdings. Above 1.0 the company can issue stock accretively. Below 1.0 every new share destroys value for existing holders, and the funding door closes. Thirteen of the eighteen largest digital asset treasury vehicles now trade at a discount, including Michael Saylor’s Strategy at roughly 0.81, according to DL News.
With equity issuance off the table and bitcoin trading in the low $60,000s, companies with no operating business have one asset left to sell. Strategy has said it will sell bitcoin to fund buybacks. MARA Holdings liquidated more than 15,000 BTC to retire convertible debt. Nakamoto Holdings sold at roughly a 40% realized loss to cover operations. Empery’s move is smaller in dollar terms and different in intent, because it is not just plugging a hole. It is buying a different business.
The AI data center trade
Empery is acquiring a 25% stake in a Midwest AI data center site with 150 MW of existing power capacity, per The Block. Power capacity, not compute, is the scarce input in the current AI buildout, and companies that already control interconnection rights and substations can lease that capacity to hyperscalers on long contracts.
That revenue profile is the opposite of a bitcoin balance sheet. A signed lease produces predictable cash flow that equity analysts can model. A pile of bitcoin produces a number that moves with the market and gives the stock nothing to trade on except the coin price.
The crypto-adjacent version of this trade already has a marquee example. TeraWulf, a former bitcoin miner, signed a $19 billion AI hosting lease with Anthropic, and the market repriced the stock on the strength of the contract rather than on hashrate. Empery has no such lease. It has a minority stake in a site and a plan.
What this signals for corporate bitcoin holders
The relevant question for the rest of the market is whether Empery is an outlier or an early mover. The distinction between “we are selling because we must” and “we are selling because we found something better” is thin when both end in the same place: coins hitting the market from firms that promised never to sell.
Roughly 1,400 BTC is not enough supply to move price on its own. The signal matters more than the size. Empery’s board looked at a treasury strategy trading below the value of its own holdings, and concluded that a stake in a data center was worth more than the bitcoin it had to sell to get it. Other small and mid-cap treasury boards are running the same math.
Anyone holding these stocks as leveraged bitcoin exposure should read the filings carefully. The premise of the trade was that the company would hold through drawdowns. That premise is now optional.
What comes next
Empery has told investors it may sell more bitcoin as opportunities arise, which leaves the remaining 1,514 BTC on the table. The company also faces shareholder lawsuits, and some of the sale proceeds are set aside for legal costs. Watch for the closing of the $65 million property transaction and for any signed hosting or lease agreement at the site, which is the only thing that would validate the pivot.
Watch, too, for the next treasury company to file a similar 8-K. If bitcoin stays below the level where these firms can issue stock at a premium, the sellers will keep coming.
Frequently asked questions
How much bitcoin did Empery Digital sell?
Empery Digital sold 1,400 BTC since May 7 at an average price of about $62,200 per coin, raising $87.1 million. That is roughly half of what it held. The company still owns 1,514 BTC worth about $96.5 million and holds $73.9 million in cash.
What is mNAV and why does it matter for treasury companies?
mNAV is the ratio of a treasury company’s market value to the value of its crypto holdings. Above 1.0, the company can issue stock and buy more bitcoin per share. Below 1.0, issuing stock dilutes holders, which cuts off the funding that the model depends on.
Does Empery’s sale mean bitcoin treasury companies are failing?
Not all of them, but the model is under strain. Thirteen of the eighteen largest digital asset treasury vehicles trade below the value of their coins, and several, including MARA and Nakamoto Holdings, have sold bitcoin to cover debt or operations rather than to fund a new business.
