ORBS Stock Struggles To Reclaim $1 Despite Expanding OpenAI Investment To $90 Million Amid Market Selloff

• ORBS stock initially climbed on the news, moving as high of $0.98 in intraday trade despite the broader selloff in the market.
• The shares have been struggling to reclaim the $1 mark after dipping below that level on March 9. 
• Eightco’s total investment in OpenAI now stands at $90 million. 
• It is the second Sam Altman-led enterprise that the company has invested in after Worldcoin.

Shares of Eightco Holdings Co. (ORBS) fell in midday trade on Friday after the company announced it had invested an additional $40 million in the Sam Altman-led OpenAI.

ORBS stock climbed as high at $0.98 in intraday trade, gaining despite the broader market sell off, before pairing gains to trade at around $0.93. The shares have been struggling to climb higher since dipping below $1 on March 9. Retail sentiment around Eightco on Stocktwits remained in ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day, accompanied by chatter at ‘extremely high’ levels. 

If ORBS’ share price remains below the $1 threshold for more than 30 days, the company risks receiving a deficiency notice from Nasdaq, which will inform it of a 180-day grace period to regain compliance. 

Meanwhile, the broader market tumbled lower as the tension in the Middle East continued to escalate amid the U.S.-Iran war. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) slipped 0.83%, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) fell 0.60%, and the Nasdaq-100 tracking Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) dropped 1.10%. Retail sentiment around QQQ on Stocktwits remained in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day, while chatter tumbled to ‘low’ from ‘normal’ levels.

OpenAI Bet Expands Balance Sheet Exposure

Eightco’s investment in OpenAI now represents 30% of its balance sheet. In addition to OpenAI, the company holds over 277 million Worldcoin (WLD), which amounts to around 10% of its total circulating supply. Worldcoin, like OpenAI, was founded by Altman and aims to create a global ID system using iris scans.

“Access to high-growth private companies has historically been limited to institutional investors, and we're proud to offer retail investors meaningful exposure to one of the most important AI companies in the world.” – Kevin O'Donnell, CEO, Eightco Holdings Co.

Worldcoin token’s price fell 2.8% in the last 24 hours to around $0.32. However, retail sentiment around WLD remained in ‘extremely bullish’ territory and saw ‘extremely high’ levels of chatter over the past day. Meanwhile, retail sentiment around OpenAI trended in ‘neutral’ territory, also accompanied by ‘extremely high’ levels of chatter.

Fresh Funding Strengthens Strategic Position

The move comes after the company had announced it had secured $125 million in new funding last week. The funding round was led by Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), which committed $75 million, complemented by $25 million each from Cathie Wood-led ARK Invest and Payward, parent of global crypto platform Kraken. 

BMNR chairman Tom Lee was added to the board of directors, and Dan Ives stepped down from his role as chairman. Bitmine currently holds a  $83 million stake in Eightco Holdings. BMNR’s stock was down 1.7% in midday trade with retail sentiment trending in ‘bullish’ territory amid ‘extremely high’ levels of chatter over the past day. 

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