Prenetics Global, a health sciences company backed and co-founded by football superstar David Beckham, has rolled back its ambitious Bitcoin accumulation strategy just months after kicking off efforts to stockpile the flagship cryptocurrency.
According to a Dec. 30 statement from the company, Prenetics has stopped all purchasing activity since Dec. 4 and has no plans to resume in the foreseeable future.
“[…] Following approval by its Board of Directors, Prenetics announced that it will no longer pursue future acquisitions of Bitcoin,” an excerpt from the statement said.
Instead, the company plans on focusing all its capital and resources towards developing IM8, its fast-rising consumer health brand that has seen remarkable success over the past year.
“This strategic move comes at a time of unprecedented success in the consumer wellness sector with IM8, the fastest-growing supplement brand in industry history, which achieved over $100 million in annualized recurring revenue (“ARR”) in 11 months since launch,” the statement noted.
“Capital allocation will be directed exclusively toward the growth, operations, and strategic expansion of IM8, including product innovation, brand building, talent acquisition, working capital, and international expansion,” it added.
Prenetics planned to acquire $1B worth of Bitcoin
Prenetics first announced plans to adopt a Bitcoin treasury strategy back in June 2025, as it touted itself as the first healthcare company to embrace the digital asset treasury model.
At the time, it said the convergence of healthcare innovation, and Bitcoin was viewed as a major opportunity to create long-term shareholder value, as it unveiled plans to accumulate up to $1 billion in Bitcoin on its balance sheet within five years.
The company even appointed crypto industry veteran Andy Cheung to its board of directors to help steer this strategy.
Starting in August, the company began systematically acquiring 1 Bitcoin every day and has so far accumulated a total of 510 BTC, which it plans to continue holding on its balance sheet alongside over $70 million in cash and cash equivalents.
To further reinforce its plans, the company raised roughly $48 million in a public offering back in October and allocated a portion of it towards its Bitcoin accumulation.
By the end of the month, it had made two sizable block purchases of 45 and 55 BTC, respectively. Meanwhile, on November 14, it picked up an additional 100 BTC.
Bitcoin hoarders under pressure
Although the company did not directly specify the downturn as a reason in its official statement, the decision to halt further purchases may have also been influenced by the prolonged slump in crypto markets that began in October and has since pushed Bitcoin and other leading assets to multi-month lows.
For public companies stockpiling Bitcoin, a strategy popularised by Michael Saylor, founder of Strategy, this has created new financial pressures around treasury management and liquidity, which in turn has weighed heavily on share prices.
Strategy itself has felt the impact and had to establish a $1.44 billion reserve fund last month, funded through a stock offering program, to help address investor concerns over its ability to service debt and pay out dividends without selling any of its Bitcoin.
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