Rumble Bolsters Treasury with $15.5 Million in Bitcoin

The video-sharing platform Rumble has added $17.1 million in Bitcoin to its corporate treasury, joining a growing number of publicly traded firms that are incorporating the oldest cryptocurrency into their financial strategies.

The Nasdaq-listed company acquired approximately 188 Bitcoin for its treasury at an average price of $91,000 per token, according to a statement made by the company on Wednesday. The current value of this Bitcoin stands around $15.5 million based on Wednesday’s market price.

This acquisition is part of Rumble’s strategy to allocate up to $20 million of its surplus cash reserves to Bitcoin.

“These assets have the potential to act as a significant hedge against inflation and will avoid dilution, unlike many overprinted government currencies,” stated Chris Pavlovsk, Rumble’s Chairman and CEO, in the announcement.

Decrypt’s team reached out to Rumble for further comments.

Rumble’s foray into Bitcoin comes as an increasing number of publicly traded companies follow the lead of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), which shifted its focus from software years ago to become a Bitcoin treasury, currently holding over 444,000 Bitcoin, according to data from CoinGecko. Other firms like Tesla and Semler Scientific have also amassed significant Bitcoin reserves in recent years.

Rumble first announced its plan to invest in Bitcoin late last year, around the time the asset reached an all-time high of nearly $109,000.

Despite Bitcoin’s price dipping over 20% since then, according to CoinGecko data, it rebounded above $83,000 on Tuesday, buoyed by favorable pro-crypto regulatory developments in the U.S.

As Bitcoin’s price has declined from previous highs, some companies are making strategic purchases during the dip.

For instance, Metaplanet disclosed on Wednesday that it has recently allocated an additional $13.2 million towards Bitcoin. Additionally, Strategy unveiled a plan earlier this week to sell $21 billion in shares to acquire more Bitcoin.

In its statement, Rumble referred to Bitcoin as a “valuable tool for strategic planning” as it seeks to expand its footprint in the cryptocurrency market.

“We are proud to officially hold Bitcoin as we continue to grow and integrate crypto into the fabric of our company,” Pavlovsk remarked.

At the time of writing, Rumble’s shares are trading at $7.94, reflecting an increase of roughly 2% over the past 24 hours.

Edited by James Rubin