Treasury to Power: Empery plugs $20M into 750MW AI campus, pivots further from its 1,514 BTC stash ⚡

Empery Digital disclosed a $20 million investment in Cardinal Data Power, acquiring an approximately 8% stake in the private developer of powered data center campuses. The investment formed part of Cardinal's roughly $70 million Series A and will fund a 750-megawatt data center campus in West Texas. Cardinal said the site is expected to deliver first power in 2027, expand to about 1 gigawatt by 2029 and eventually exceed 5 gigawatts. The company builds powered data center campuses designed for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads, combining power generation, natural gas supply and electrical infrastructure to accelerate the development of large-scale computing sites.

The deployment marks a further step away from Empery's Bitcoin ($BTC) treasury strategy, which it adopted in mid-2025 after pivoting from its former electric powersports business. Earlier this month, Empery reported it had sold about 1,400 BTC over a two-month period for roughly $87.1 million, using the proceeds to fund AI infrastructure investments and repay debt. The transactions reduced Empery's holdings to 1,514 BTC, down from a peak of 4,081 BTC before the company began trimming its position in March, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET.

The sale came as Empery faced pressure from shareholder Tice P. Brown, who publicly urged the company to abandon its treasury strategy and sought the resignation of its chief executive officer and board. Empery's deepening commitment to AI infrastructure follows a broader divergence across the Bitcoin treasury sector, where some firms are doubling down on accumulation while others restructure, pivot or exit.

Satsuma Technology became one of the first Bitcoin treasury companies to unwind after shareholders voted overwhelmingly on July 20 to sell the company's Bitcoin holdings, return substantially all of its capital to investors and delist from the London Stock Exchange, with more than 90% of votes cast backing both the capital return and the delisting. Meanwhile, a proposed merger between Tether-backed Twenty One Capital, Strike and Bitcoin miner Elektron Energy was scrapped earlier this week, leaving Strike as a standalone company while discussions between Twenty One and Elektron continue. Twenty One remains one of the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holders with 43,514 BTC, second only to Strategy among publicly tracked corporate treasuries, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET.

Other entrants are reshaping the model in new directions. Bitcoin analyst Lyn Alden co-founded Orange Juice HODLINGS, a permanent-capital holding company backed by Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas that launched with $40 million in initial funding, with plans to acquire and hold profit-generating businesses alongside Bitcoin rather than simply accumulating the asset.