Eightco Secures $125 Million Institutional Funding Led by Bitmine, ARK Invest's Cathie Wood, and Payward

Eightco Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ORBS) has announced new funding commitments totalling $125 million, comprising $75 million from Bitmine (NYSE: BMNR) and a minimum of $25 million from ARK Invest. Payward, the parent company of the global cryptocurrency platform Kraken, has also committed $25 million in funding to ORBS. These capital commitments support ORBS’s expansion to invest in next-generation artificial intelligence technology, blockchain infrastructure, and global digital consumer platforms.

ORBS has also announced the closure of initial strategic investments of $50 million in OpenAI and $25 million in MrBeast and Beast Industries. These investments position ORBS as a leading centre for AI technology and content creation, expanding its portfolio to include equity stakes in various leading innovation companies worldwide. ORBS continues to hold Worldcoin, co-founded by Sam Altman, and Ethereum based on its long-term belief in the ERC-20 protocol.

The company has appointed Tom Lee, Chairman of Bitmine, to join ORBS’s Board of Directors. Brett Winton, Chief Futurist at ARK Invest, will serve as a board adviser to ORBS. Dan Ives will step down as Chairman of ORBS.

Tom Lee, Chairman of Bitmine and newly appointed independent director at ORBS, stated: “Bitmine is investing in ORBS because we believe the company is a centre for some of the most important AI developments and requirements in the future. For me, there is extraordinary synergy between Proof of Human (Worldcoin), OpenAI’s foundational models, and connectivity to the world’s greatest content creators, MrBeast. And the ARK investment team, known for its pioneering in identifying exponential opportunities, further drives synergy and innovation in this company.”

Worldcoin was created to address the critical challenge of distinguishing between humans and bots in the AI era. Regarding Worldcoin’s creation, Sam Altman commented: “We need a way to identify and authenticate humans in the AGI era. We need a way to know which content was created by humans versus AI. We want a way to ensure that humans remain special and at the centre of attention in a world where the internet will be filled with much AI-generated content. We want a way to think about how to distribute access to these systems.”

Cathie Wood, Founder, CEO, and CIO of ARK Invest, said: “ORBS is taking a unique initiative among AI, blockchain, and creator-driven platforms. ARK Invest focuses on technology that can transform the global economy. We are delighted to partner with ORBS to support their strategy as all these technologies evolve over the next decade.”

Arjun Sethi, Chief Executive Officer of Kraken and Payward, commented: “Technological revolutions tend to follow power law dynamics: a small number of platforms control a disproportionate share of value. ORBS positions itself at the intersection of three interconnected networks—AI, cryptographic infrastructure, and global digital distribution. The capital being deployed to this combination can scale rapidly, and we are thrilled to support a strategy designed to benefit from this extraordinarily large profit potential.”

Eightco Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ORBS) is expanding its mission to hold equity stakes in leading AI models, specifically OpenAI, and leading content creators, MrBeast and Beast Industries. Through strategic investments and partnerships, ORBS is positioned at the intersection of blockchain infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and next-generation consumer platforms. The company is focused on creating long-term shareholder value through alignment of capital with transformative technologies shaping humanity’s future.

Bitmine (NYSE AMERICAN: BMNR) is a US-based Bitcoin mining company. Bitmine uses its capital advantages to become the world’s leading Ethereum Treasury company, implementing innovative digital asset strategies for institutional investors and public market participants. Following its “5% alchemy” philosophy, Bitmine is committed to making ETH a primary treasury reserve asset by leveraging native protocol-level activities including staking and decentralised finance mechanisms. The company plans to launch MAVAN (Made-in America Validator Network), a proprietary staking infrastructure for Bitmine assets, in the first quarter of 2026.

Beast Industries is a diverse entertainment, consumer products, and consumer packaged goods (CPG) company founded and led by YouTube video creator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast. As a global entertainment hub, MrBeast is the YouTube channel with the most subscribers, with over 450 million people. Monthly views across all channels exceed 5 billion. Recognised as the number one creator.