Empery Invests $20M in Cardinal Data Power, Expands AI Pivot

Empery Digital said it invested $20 million in Cardinal Data Power, acquiring an approximately 8% stake in the private developer of powered data center campuses.

The investment was part of Cardinal Data Power’s approximately $70 million Series A financing and will support development of a 750-megawatt data center campus in West Texas. The project is expected to deliver its first power in 2027, expand to about 1 gigawatt by 2029 and eventually exceed 5 gigawatts.

Cardinal develops powered data center campuses for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads. The company said it combines power generation, natural gas supply and electrical infrastructure to accelerate development of large-scale computing sites.

Empery has been moving away from its Bitcoin (BTC) treasury strategy, which it adopted in mid-2025 after pivoting from its former electric powersports business. Earlier this month, the company disclosed it had sold about 1,400 Bitcoin over a two-month period for roughly $87.1 million, using the proceeds to fund AI infrastructure investments and repay debt.

The sale came as Empery faced mounting pressure from shareholder Tice P. Brown, who called on the company to abandon its treasury strategy and sought the resignation of its chief executive officer and board.

The transactions reduced the company’s Bitcoin holdings to 1,514 BTC. Empery had previously held as many as 4,081 BTC before beginning to trim its position in March, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET.

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Bitcoin treasury companies take divergent paths

The Bitcoin treasury model is evolving, with some companies doubling down on accumulation while others are pivoting, restructuring or exiting altogether.

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. More than 90% of votes cast supported 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

Despite the change, 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.

Top 10 Bitcoin treasury companies. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NET

Other entrepreneurs are taking the Bitcoin treasury concept in a different direction. Last week, 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.

Rather than simply accumulating Bitcoin, the company plans to acquire and hold profitable businesses indefinitely while using Bitcoin as its treasury reserve asset, combining long-term business ownership with a Bitcoin-backed balance sheet.

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