Prenetics has ended its high-profile Bitcoin buying strategy less than three months after raising millions to build a crypto treasury, choosing instead to focus entirely on its booming wellness brand IM8.
Key Takeaways
- Prenetics has halted its “1 BTC per day” Bitcoin treasury program, redirecting all resources to its fast-growing health supplement brand IM8.
- The pivot comes after a $48 million funding round that included Kraken, GPTX by Jihan Wu, and David Beckham, originally intended for both Bitcoin and IM8.
- IM8 has generated over $100 million in annualized revenue in just 11 months, prompting the company to prioritize its growth.
- Prenetics still holds 510 Bitcoin valued at about $45 million, but will no longer make new crypto purchases.
What Happened?
Prenetics Global, a Nasdaq-listed health sciences company co-founded by David Beckham, has officially scrapped its Bitcoin accumulation plan. The decision, announced December 30, marks a sharp reversal from a strategy launched just six months ago to acquire one Bitcoin per day. The company will now direct all resources toward expanding its consumer wellness brand, IM8, which has rapidly outpaced expectations in both sales and scalability.
Prenetics, a health-sciences company that started buying Bitcoin earlier this year, has become the latest digital-asset treasury firm to halt that strategy amid depressed crypto prices. https://t.co/RiqX1J3xQ1
— Bloomberg (@business) December 30, 2025
Prenetics’ Sudden Pivot from Bitcoin
In June 2025, Prenetics made headlines as the first healthcare firm to adopt a Bitcoin treasury strategy modeled after Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc. Starting with a $20 million investment, it acquired 187.42 Bitcoin through Kraken and began a disciplined daily purchase program. The move was turbocharged in October when the company raised $48 million in an oversubscribed equity round. Key investors included crypto names like Kraken, Exodus, and GPTX by Jihan Wu, as well as high-profile supporters such as Aryna Sabalenka and Beckham himself.
The plan, however, was short-lived. On December 4, Prenetics quietly stopped its daily Bitcoin purchases. Less than four weeks later, the company announced it was officially abandoning the strategy altogether. The shift comes amid a broader downturn in crypto markets. Bitcoin, which traded around $114,000 during the October raise, has since dropped to roughly $88,000. Market turbulence, compounded by events like President Trump’s announcement of a 100% tariff on China that triggered a $1.9 billion crypto liquidation, contributed to industry-wide caution.
IM8’s Explosive Growth Changes the Game
While the crypto strategy stumbled, IM8 surged ahead. Co-founded with Beckham, the health supplement brand generated over $100 million in annualized recurring revenue in under a year. CEO Danny Yeung described IM8 as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity” and confirmed that the board unanimously agreed to refocus completely on its expansion.
The company expects IM8 to bring in between $180 million and $200 million in revenue for the 2026 fiscal year. Management highlighted this as the fastest recorded growth in the supplement industry’s history.
Crypto Holdings Remain on the Books
Although Prenetics has ceased its Bitcoin acquisition strategy, it will retain the 510 Bitcoin currently on its balance sheet, now worth about $45 million. The company holds more than $70 million in cash and remains debt-free, positioning itself for aggressive IM8 expansion in 2026.
Bitcoin continues to struggle in breaking past the $90,000 mark, despite occasional surges. Its recent volatility has made other firms similarly reconsider crypto-heavy strategies. For instance, Ethereum-focused ETHZilla has shifted toward real-world asset tokenization.
CoinLaw’s Takeaway
I found this pivot by Prenetics both surprising and strategic. It’s not often you see a company so quickly reverse a public and capital-intensive crypto initiative. But in my experience, bold pivots like this often separate winners from the rest. IM8’s rapid growth is undeniably impressive, and focusing all firepower there could pay off big. What stands out to me is that this wasn’t a fear-based retreat from crypto. Instead, it was a confident bet on a business that’s clearly working. That’s smart leadership. And let’s be honest, in a market as unpredictable as crypto, disciplined moves like this might be the new sign of maturity.
