EASTON, Pa., Aug. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Eightco Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ORBS) ("Eightco" or the "Company") said on Wednesday that it has updated its total holdings across digital assets and strategic investments in private technology companies.

As of Aug. 5, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. ET, Eightco said its holdings included a $90 million investment, indirectly through special purpose vehicles, in OpenAI; an $18 million funded investment in Beast Industries; a $1 million investment in Mythical Games; 301,971,219 Worldcoin (WLD) tokens valued at $0.32 per WLD, according to Coinbase; 16,278 Ethereum (ETH); and about $142 million in cash and stablecoins. The company said the total value of these holdings was approximately $378 million.

The update places Eightco among a growing group of publicly traded companies that have allocated treasury assets to digital currencies and private tech equity, a strategy pioneered at scale by MicroStrategy's Bitcoin acquisitions beginning in 2020. Eightco's approach differs in that its portfolio spans multiple asset classes rather than concentrating in a single cryptocurrency.

Eightco also noted that it recently participated in World Foundation's $52.5 million funding round, which was led by Pantera and included participation from Bain Capital Crypto, Selini Capital, Susquehanna Crypto and additional investors. The company said OpenAI recently announced that it had submitted a confidential S-1, positioning itself for a possible future initial public offering — one of the most anticipated potential listings in the technology sector given OpenAI's central role in the commercialization of generative AI.

The company said its treasury portfolio is designed to provide indirect exposure to private technology companies including OpenAI and Beast Industries, which are not independently accessible to public market investors.

Headlines cited by Eightco

In its update, Eightco highlighted several recent developments that management said support its view of the company's treasury composition.

On Aug. 2, the World Bank released a report saying artificial intelligence could help developing countries gain a century's worth of development in a decade if they move quickly to address gaps in power, connectivity and skills. Reuters quoted World Bank chief economist Indermit Gill as saying, "AI has thrown developing economies a lifeline, and they should seize it."

On July 29, The New York Times reported that the AI boom is creating thousands of high-paying jobs for electricians, carpenters and other skilled trades needed to build the infrastructure supporting AI.

On July 26, The Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia is in talks with OpenAI to provide a roughly $250 billion backstop for OpenAI as part of a large data-center project. The report said the two companies are exploring a 10-gigawatt, $500 billion data center campus in southern Ohio to be managed by SoftBank's SB Energy.

Eightco also cited a recent podcast appearance by Sam Altman, in which he suggested the world may be approaching the "singularity," describing it as a point at which advances in AI could accelerate rapidly and potentially lead to superintelligent systems.

In addition, Eightco pointed to recent reporting that firms including BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sachs and SoFi urged Congress to pass the Clarity Act. According to Coindesk, the firms argued that clear rules would protect investors, provide regulatory certainty and help the U.S. remain competitive as digital assets become more mainstream. The Clarity Act is part of a broader push on Capitol Hill to establish a comprehensive digital asset regulatory framework, an effort that has included the House-passed Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act.

Tom Lee, a board member of Eightco, said during a July 27 appearance on CNBC Power Lunch: "Crypto is turning money into software; a lot of things can turn into money: loyalty points, reputation… You want a governing body to oversee all this. Now, Japan, Russia, Europe are actually passing Clarity Act-like bills. So the U.S. is risking getting behind. That's why I think crypto is recovering, because outside the U.S., it's being embraced."

Eightco's three focus areas

Eightco said it is built around three megatrends it expects to shape the next decade of innovation: artificial intelligence, digital identity and the creator economy. The company said its positions in these areas include indirect investment in OpenAI, exposure to Worldcoin (WLD) and equity in Beast Industries.

Artificial intelligence — OpenAI

Eightco said it has invested approximately $90 million in special purpose vehicles with exposure to equity interests in the parent company of OpenAI. The company said this represents about 24% of its treasury assets. Secondary market trading of private company shares has expanded in recent years as technology firms have delayed public listings, creating demand from investors seeking pre-IPO exposure to companies like OpenAI.

Eightco also cited Sensor Tower data saying ChatGPT is the No. 1 consumer AI app worldwide. On July 31, 2026, OpenAI said its models now reach more than one billion active users and more than two million businesses. OpenAI also said that six months after signing up, users send roughly 50% more messages each day and use ChatGPT for about twice as many kinds of work.

Digital identity — WLD token

Eightco said it holds nearly 302 million WLD, or approximately 8.4% of circulating supply, making it the largest publicly disclosed institutional position globally. The company said the stake represents about 25% of Eightco's treasury assets.

Worldcoin is the native token of World, a global Proof of Human network built by Tools for Humanity, which was co-founded by Sam Altman and Alex Blania, and stewarded by the World Foundation. World's Orb devices issue a privacy-preserving World ID that verifies a user is a unique human rather than an AI agent — a capability that has drawn increasing attention as generative AI tools make it harder to distinguish human from automated activity online.

Under World's announced business model, applications pay per-verification fees while end-user verification remains free, with both credential issuers and the World protocol monetizing verified-human authentication. World says it identifies a $6.35 trillion combined addressable revenue opportunity across 13 industries, including banking, e-commerce, gaming, social media and agentic AI, according to Tools for Humanity.

Creator economy — Beast Industries

Eightco said it has invested $18 million in Beast Industries equity, equal to about 5% of treasury assets.

The company said Beast Industries operates one of the largest direct-to-consumer reach footprints in the world, with a combined audience of more than 500 million followers across platforms, anchored by MrBeast as the most-watched person on YouTube globally. Eightco said that as AI commoditizes content production, distribution and audience trust become increasingly scarce assets.

About Eightco Holdings

Eightco Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ORBS) said it is executing a first-of-its-kind Worldcoin (WLD) treasury strategy that provides investors with single-ticker indirect exposure to three of the defining trends of this cycle: artificial intelligence through its indirect investment in OpenAI, digital identity through its position as the largest public holder of WLD and the Proof of Human protocol, and the creator economy through its equity stake in MrBeast's Beast Industries.

The company said it is backed by institutional investors including Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BMNR), MOZAYYX, World Foundation, CoinFund, Discovery Capital Management, FalconX, Payward/Kraken, Pantera and GSR.

For more information, Eightco listed X: @iamhuman_orbs and its website, 8co.holdings.

Additional company information

Eightco said Kevin O'Donnell is its chief executive officer. The company's board includes Tom Lee, managing partner and head of research at Fundstrat and chairman of Bitmine Immersion Technologies, and Brett Winton, chief futurist at ARK Invest, as an advisor to the board.

The company also included a standard forward-looking statements disclaimer, saying that its statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including volatility in digital asset prices, regulatory changes, uncertainty around OpenAI's product roadmap and potential IPO timing, and the company's ability to maintain Nasdaq listing compliance. Eightco said readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and referred investors to its SEC filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed April 15, 2026.