From $BTC Balance Sheet to AI Build-Out: Empery Digital Cashes Out Half Its Stack 🏗️

Publicly traded Bitcoin treasury firm Empery Digital Inc. (EMPD) disclosed in an SEC filing this week that it sold 1,400 BTC since May 7 at an average price of roughly $62,200 per coin, generating approximately $87.1 million in gross proceeds. The sales trimmed the company's holdings by 48%, leaving it with 1,514 BTC valued at nearly $96.5 million as of Thursday. The filing was reported earlier by Decrypt.

Of the proceeds, $10 million was used on July 7 to retire outstanding debt, with the remainder earmarked for a previously announced property acquisition, legal expenses tied to stockholder litigation, and general operating costs. The company currently holds approximately $73.9 million in cash and has $45 million still outstanding on its debt facility, according to the filing. EMPD shares rose 4.2% to $3.95 within the first 35 minutes of Friday trading before retracing to close up 1.58% at $3.86, per Google Finance and Yahoo data.

The property deal, announced June 30, is a $65 million transaction for a 25% ownership stake in a private entity—affiliated with Hunt Properties—acquiring a Midwest industrial facility to be converted into a state-of-the-art AI data center. "Going forward, we plan to continue to allocate capital to similar hyperscaler-anchored opportunities," said co-CEO Ryan Lane. The filing does not specify a timeline for completing the acquisition or resolving the pending litigation, which was previously outlined in the company's quarterly report for the period ending March 31.

The disclosure underscores how corporate holders of Bitcoin are increasingly treating their crypto reserves as a liquidity source, selling down positions to meet conventional financial obligations. Empery Digital had pivoted to a Bitcoin-centric treasury strategy in mid-2025 when BTC was approaching its all-time high of $126,080 set in October, holding a peak of 4,081 BTC before offloading portions of its stack in March and April. The company's shift follows months of pressure from Tice P. Brown, a near-10% shareholder who called on the firm to abandon its Bitcoin-buying strategy and demanded that the CEO and entire board resign.

The broader trend extends beyond Empery. Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, sold 3,588 BTC worth $216 million earlier this month to cover dividend payments for its STRC perpetual preferred stock offering, which broke below its $100 par value to below $75 last month. Empery Digital did not immediately respond to Decrypt's request for comment on the sales or whether they affect its treasury strategy going forward, and the company said it has no plans to accumulate more BTC and may sell additional coins to fund future opportunities.