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## Executive Summary Eightco Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ORBS) has formalized a strategic investment in Web3 gaming pioneer Mythical Games, participating in its Series D financing round alongside ARK Invest and World Foundation. This collaboration aims to integrate **Worldchain**, an ERC-20 compatible blockchain, and **World ID** into Mythical Games' ecosystem, establishing a framework for Proof of Human (PoH) verification and streamlined digital identity across its gaming titles. The initiative underscores Eightco's corporate strategy to become a foundational authentication layer for the post-AGI economy, focusing on enhancing trust and interoperability within digital environments. ## The Event in Detail The investment, announced on October 13, 2025, is poised to close the week of October 20. Eightco's participation in Mythical Games' Series D financing round aligns with its strategic roadmap to allocate up to 1% of its treasury assets towards venture-style investments in breakthrough authentication technologies. Mythical Games, led by former Call of Duty studio head John Linden, operates a portfolio of Web3 gaming franchises such including **NFL Rivals**, **Pudgy Penguins' Pudgy Party**, and **FIFA Rivals**. The company reports over 10 million combined game installs and 9.6 million funded wallets, with an annual NFT sales volume of approximately $400 million. The integration will see Mythical Games' marketplace expanding to leverage Worldchain for secure, verifiable gaming infrastructure, enabling seamless interoperability of gaming assets and identities. ## Financial Mechanics of the Investment Eightco Holdings Inc.'s involvement in Mythical Games' Series D financing represents a direct equity investment into a growth-stage company. While specific financial terms such as convertible note structures or precise valuations were not disclosed, Series D financing typically indicates a mature startup stage with established products and a clear path to market expansion. The investment structure reflects a strategic allocation from Eightco's treasury, earmarked for advancing authentication technologies. This contrasts with debt financing or public market equity raises, instead focusing on direct capital injection into a privately held entity to foster technological integration and market synergy. Other participants in the Series D include institutional investor ARK Invest, managed by Cathie Wood, and the World Foundation, highlighting a diversified investor base with a shared interest in Web3 and digital identity. ## Business Strategy and Market Positioning Eightco positions itself as the "authentication and trust layer for the post-AGI world," working in coordination with the **Worldcoin ecosystem**. Its investment in Mythical Games is a direct execution of this vision, extending its authentication capabilities into the rapidly growing Web3 gaming sector. Chairman Dan Ives stated, "This investment marks another key step in our mission to become the authentication layer of the post-AGI economy," emphasizing the company's focus on enterprise and gaming authentication. Mythical Games, with its existing user base and substantial NFT sales volume, provides a robust platform for the implementation of Worldchain's Proof of Human and single sign-on capabilities. This strategic alignment aims to create a unified trust framework that scales globally, leveraging World ID's over 17 million verified users and Mythical's 9.6 million funded wallets. This strategy parallels early corporate adoption trends seen in companies like **MicroStrategy**, which strategically invested in Bitcoin to align its treasury with a new digital asset class, though Eightco's approach is focused on leveraging its treasury for venture investments to integrate its core technology. ## Broader Market Implications The integration of Proof of Human verification and digital identity solutions within Web3 gaming is anticipated to have significant implications for the broader Web3 ecosystem. It addresses critical issues such as fraud reduction, enhanced user onboarding, and verifiable ownership of digital assets. By establishing a robust identity layer, the partnership could foster greater trust and security, driving mainstream adoption of blockchain-based identity within the gaming sector. This move may set a precedent for secure digital economies, particularly as the industry navigates the complexities of AI integration. The scalable real-world identity and on-chain utility facilitated by Worldchain and World ID could transform gaming into a more inclusive and secure digital economy. ## Expert Commentary Dan Ives, Chairman of Eightco Holdings Inc., articulated the strategic imperative: "Worldchain's Proof of Human and single sign-on capabilities make it the ideal foundation for the next era of gaming and AI integration." He further added, "Mythical's 9.6 million wallets represent an installed base of users that can build on World ID's over 17 million verified user count. We expect this partnership and future deals to drive positive step-change functions in the World verified customer base." John Linden, CEO of Mythical Games, commented on the partnership's impact: "Mythical is integrating with Worldchain to bring identity and trust into the next era of gaming. Our vision is to make every player... part of a verified, global economy where digital ownership and fair play are guaranteed." Linden emphasized the goal of connecting billions of players through secure, human-verified accounts that function seamlessly across various gaming platforms and rewards systems.
## Executive Summary September 2025 marked a period of general cooling across cryptocurrency markets, with 23 of 35 major assets declining, despite **Bitcoin (BTC)** registering a modest 5% gain. **Ethereum (ETH)** experienced a 5% decrease. This market behavior occurred amidst pivotal technical upgrades on major blockchain networks and a significant expansion in decentralized finance (DeFi) derivatives. The month also highlighted a notable re-engagement by institutional players in enterprise blockchain solutions, signaling a maturing ecosystem despite broader market uncertainty. ## The Event in Detail **Solana** achieved a significant milestone with the overwhelming approval of its **Alpenglow upgrade** by validators, garnering 98.27% support. This technical overhaul aims to reduce transaction finality times from over 12 seconds to 100-150 milliseconds, representing a 100-fold speed improvement. The upgrade replaces **Proof-of-History** with **Rotor** for transaction timestamping and **TowerBFT** with **Votor** for validator voting, enhancing consensus efficiency. Furthermore, **p-tokens (Pinocchio library)**, under development by Anza, are expected to boost transaction efficiency by up to 19 times by optimizing Solana program execution through zero-copy data structures, potentially reducing computational resource usage by 95%. This aims to make Solana a more attractive platform for high-frequency trading and financial applications, with **Total Value Locked** reaching $8.6 billion in Q2 2025. **Ethereum** is preparing for its **Fusaka upgrade**, scheduled for December 2025. This upgrade will integrate **Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS)**, a key feature to enhance Layer-2 scalability and reduce transaction costs. The plan involves doubling blob capacity from six to nine per block initially, with subsequent forks planned to increase this to 15 and then 21 blobs per block by January. **Vitalik Buterin**, Ethereum co-founder, emphasized that PeerDAS will allow nodes to verify data availability without downloading full datasets, addressing Layer-2 bottlenecks. However, **Tomasz Stanczak**, Ethereum Foundation co-executive director, cautioned that coordination challenges risk delaying fourth-quarter deadlines for Fusaka. In the **DeFi derivatives** sector, **Perpetual Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs)** reached a record-setting $1.226 trillion in monthly trading volume. **Aster** led this surge, with its trading volume escalating from $1.15 billion to $85.55 billion within 12 days of its **Token Generation Event (TGE)** on September 17, 2025. This rapid growth was attributed to a gamified incentive system offering "Rh points" for trading activity, redeemable for **ASTER** token rewards. This accelerated Aster past **Hyperliquid**, the previous market leader. Despite this, skepticism exists regarding whether a portion of this volume constitutes wash trading. Hyperliquid maintained its position as an influential force, commanding approximately 70% of the perp DEX market share according to Token Terminal and DeFiLlama data. The re-emergence of **enterprise blockchains** gained momentum, with major institutions like **JP Morgan**, **SWIFT**, **Societe Generale**, **Stripe**, **Circle**, **Coinbase**, and **OpenAI** initiating significant projects. This trend signifies growing regulatory clarity and institutional confidence, indicating a shift towards a "utility phase" where blockchain technology is integrated into core business operations. Market analysts project enterprise blockchain spending to reach $145.9 billion by 2030, driven by AI and IoT data volumes. Concurrently, **Plasma (XPL)** launched a $10 billion chain with a $1.25 billion airdrop, contributing to **Binance's (BNB)** 16% outperformance. ## Market Implications The technical upgrades in **Solana** and **Ethereum** are poised to significantly enhance network scalability and reduce transaction costs, potentially driving wider adoption across various applications, from gaming to high-frequency trading. The **Alpenglow** upgrade's 100x speed improvement and the **Fusaka** upgrade's **PeerDAS** implementation address critical infrastructure limitations, positioning these networks for increased throughput and efficiency. However, potential delays in Ethereum's Fusaka upgrade could impact developer timelines and market sentiment regarding its scaling roadmap. The extraordinary growth in **Perpetual DEXs**, particularly the rapid ascent of **Aster**, underscores increasing demand for decentralized derivatives. While token incentives have fueled this expansion, concerns about wash trading highlight the need for robust market integrity mechanisms in the DeFi space. This shift from centralized exchanges towards non-custodial trading platforms reflects evolving trader preferences for transparency and continuous access. Renewed institutional engagement in **enterprise blockchains** suggests a deepening integration of Web3 technologies into traditional finance and corporate structures. Projects from banking and technology giants indicate a move beyond experimental phases toward practical, scalable solutions that meet regulatory and performance demands. This trend, coupled with the growth of **Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs)**, as championed by firms like **Pantera Capital**, signifies a strategic shift in corporate asset management, where companies leverage digital assets to generate yield and grow net asset value per share through strategies like staking rewards and DeFi yields. The **DAT market** is projected to involve over 209 firms and raise $145 billion by 2025, providing an alternative to traditional asset holdings. ## Expert Commentary **Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin** highlighted that **PeerDAS** is "trying to do something pretty unprecedented: have a live blockchain that does not require any single node to download the full data," emphasizing its potential to transform Layer-2 scaling. Conversely, **Tomasz Stanczak**, co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, warned that "coordination slippage is putting fourth-quarter deadlines at risk for the Fusaka update," underscoring the complexities of large-scale protocol upgrades. Regarding **Solana's p-tokens**, **Scott Hague**, founder of Flux RPCs, expressed skepticism that the real-world impact might be limited, suggesting resources could be better directed elsewhere, despite the projected efficiency gains. ## Broader Context The September market movements reflect a broader narrative of a maturing yet still volatile cryptocurrency ecosystem. While the overall market experienced a cooling trend, significant advancements in core blockchain infrastructure and specific market segments demonstrated resilience and innovation. The confluence of regulatory clarity, technological maturation, including **Layer-2 solutions**, **zero-knowledge proofs**, and **Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus mechanisms**, is facilitating the transition of blockchain from experimental technology to production-grade infrastructure. This pivotal period sees enterprise blockchain adoption shifting from proofs-of-concept to systems delivering tangible business value, with 48 of the Fortune 100 expected to operate business-critical workloads on permissioned or hybrid blockchain networks by mid-2025. This indicates a sustained trajectory toward integrating digital assets and blockchain solutions into the global financial and technological landscape.
## Executive Summary Eightco Holdings Inc. has announced the availability of standardized options for its common stock, **ORBS**, on the Nasdaq Options Market. This development aligns with the rapid expansion of the **World network**, which now reports over 17 million verified humans, an increase of 2 million in three weeks. Concurrently, the company introduced its "Power of 8" initiative, setting ambitious targets for **Worldcoin (WLD)** token accumulation and human verification, underpinning its strategic focus on digital identity in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. ## The Event in Detail The introduction of standardized options trading for **Eightco Holdings Inc.** common stock on the Nasdaq Options Market aims to enhance investor accessibility, provide tools for risk management, and improve overall share liquidity. This move provides market participants with new avenues to engage with **ORBS** as the company progresses its digital asset strategy. Simultaneously, the **World network** has demonstrated substantial growth, reaching more than 17 million verified humans. This represents an increase of over 2 million verified individuals since the launch of **Eightco's Worldcoin treasury strategy** three weeks prior. This rapid adoption underpins the company's vision for a universal digital trust and identity system. The "Power of 8" initiative outlines specific strategic objectives: the accumulation of 800 million **Worldcoin (WLD)** tokens and the verification of 8 billion humans. **Eightco Holdings Inc.** Chairman **Dan Ives** and CEO **Kevin O’Donnell** emphasize this initiative as a pivotal step toward creating a seamless and universal digital trust framework. The company's proprietary **Orb technology** serves as the hardware backbone for this verification process, ensuring unique human identification. ## Market Implications The availability of options trading for **ORBS** is anticipated to increase the stock's exposure and liquidity, potentially attracting greater capital inflow to support the **Worldcoin** project. **Eightco's** adoption of a **digital asset treasury (DAT)** strategy for **Worldcoin (WLD)** mirrors a growing trend among publicly traded companies, notably **MicroStrategy**, which pioneered the integration of a significant **Bitcoin** treasury into its corporate balance sheet. This strategy aims to leverage the potential appreciation of digital assets as a store of value or strategic investment, while also aligning the company with the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem. The availability of options trading on **ORBS** further provides traditional investors with mechanisms to gain exposure or hedge positions related to the underlying digital asset strategy, similar to how derivatives markets provide avenues for engagement with companies holding substantial **Bitcoin** reserves. The rapid user growth of the **World network** further solidifies its position as a significant player in the digital identity landscape, potentially accelerating the adoption of **Proof-of-Human (PoH)** solutions across the Web3 and AI sectors. ## Expert Commentary **Dan Ives**, Chairman of **Eightco Holdings Inc.**, stated, "We are making rapid progress on the 'Power of 8,' and reaching 17 million verified humans marks a pivotal step toward a world where digital trust is seamless and universal. World is powering the single sign-on future, enabling secure, anonymous interactions online for millions of people worldwide." **Kevin O’Donnell**, CEO of **Eightco**, remarked on the symbolic significance of the user count, noting, "17 million is also an important number for our 'Power of 8' story because 8 raised to the 8th power is 17 million." **Sam Altman**, a key figure associated with the initiative, projected the potential impact, stating, "If we succeed on our mission, World might become the largest network of real people online, fundamentally changing how we interact and transact throughout the Internet." He further estimates the market for **Proof of Human** verification could reach a value of $200 billion to $300 billion, implying a **Worldcoin** value of $20 to $30 per **WLD** coin. ## Broader Context **Worldcoin's** approach to biometric identity verification, utilizing iris scans and zero-knowledge proof technology, aims to establish a decentralized identity network. However, the project continues to face regulatory scrutiny concerning its data collection practices. Privacy advocates have raised concerns regarding potential misuse of biometric data, emphasizing the critical need for compliance with global data protection frameworks such as **GDPR** and **CCPA**. Some governments view **Worldcoin** as an innovative solution for digital identity and financial inclusion, while others perceive significant surveillance risks, contributing to an uneven global regulatory landscape. **Eightco Holdings Inc.** acknowledges several forward-looking risks, including unexpected operational costs, challenges in securing adequate capital, difficulties in user adoption, and potential negative impacts from future legislation concerning digital assets and shifting public sentiment. Despite these challenges, **Worldcoin's** long-term growth potential remains linked to the broader adoption of decentralized identity systems and its position at the intersection of blockchain technology and identity verification.