Prenetics, the health-sciences company backed by David Beckham, has stopped buying bitcoin after a prolonged market slump. The firm will redirect resources to its fast-growing IM8 nutritional supplement business. It plans to hold its existing bitcoin holdings as a reserve asset.
Prenetics, a health-sciences company co-founded by CEO Danny Yeung and backed by English football icon David Beckham, announced on December 30, 2025, that it has ceased its bitcoin accumulation strategy. The decision, effective from December 4, comes amid a sustained downturn in cryptocurrency prices that began intensifying in October.
The company launched its bitcoin treasury approach in June, emulating the model popularized by MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor, where firms raise capital to acquire and hold digital assets. In October, Prenetics raised $48 million from investors including Kraken, Exodus, GPTX, and American Ventures. CEO Yeung stated at the time that the funds would support global scaling of the IM8 business while aiming to accumulate bitcoin toward a $1 billion revenue goal within five years, including daily purchases of 1 BTC.
However, shifting priorities have led to a pivot. Prenetics will retain its 510 bitcoin, valued at nearly $45 million as of December 30, as a reserve asset but will not allocate further capital to additional purchases. The focus now turns exclusively to IM8, a nutritional supplement brand co-founded by Beckham, which has generated over $100 million in annualized recurring revenue since its launch 11 months ago.
"The phenomenal success of IM8 has exceeded all expectations and scaled much faster than we originally anticipated," Yeung said in a statement. "Our board and management team unanimously agreed that the most promising path to creating significant, sustainable shareholder value is to devote our undivided attention to this opportunity clearly visible in IM8."
This move reflects broader challenges for corporate bitcoin treasuries. Prenetics shares have risen 189% year-to-date, contrasting with a nearly 48% drop for MicroStrategy and a 5.6% decline for bitcoin.
