Veteran activist Eric Jackson bets on a new kind of crypto treasury

Veteran activist investor Eric Jackson is pushing a new play in a market that has already scared off half the people who tried it. He is going after the crypto-holding company model again, but this time with a structure built for a market that refuses to sit still.

Eric says he is building a setup that uses more assets, more hedging, and a risk system meant to stop the giant losses that killed the first wave of crypto treasuries.

Eric is known for hitting odd trades that end up paying off. He bet early on Carvana and Opendoor, and he is now starting a digital-asset treasury under the EMJ Crypto Technologies name.

The timing looks wild because the whole sector is under pressure in a bearish market.

But Eric said he never liked the usual one-coin treasury firms. “I thought all of the existing Bitcoin treasury companies were non-differentiated,” he said.

He added that he wanted a “Gen-2 treasury company with multiple assets,” and a system that treats volatility as a simple part of the process instead of a shock event that wipes out value.

SRx moves to buy EMJ Crypto Technologies and reshape treasury models

On Tuesday, SRx Health Solutions announced it would buy EMJ Crypto Technologies. The combined firm would start early next year if the deal closes.

Eric would become the CEO. The DAT will hold Bitcoin, Ether, and other tokens. He said the firm may also put a small share of its capital into stocks, including names like Carvana. He is not shy about mixing assets when it fits.

He plans to hedge positions with puts and calls to add income and reduce risk. “It’s almost like you are running a mini hedge fund within your treasury company to make some income,” he said. The setup is aimed at stopping the painful drawdowns that hit other DAT firms as market prices turned lower this year.

SRx shareholder Keystone Capital Partners has pledged up to $1 billion for 2.5 billion more shares if the company wants to raise capital. Eric said Keystone is backing the “Gen-2 treasury operating system strategy.”

Michael Saylor’s Strategy built the original DAT model in 2020 when it started buying large amounts of Bitcoin. Other companies joined the trend this year, adding Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and more.

The stocks exploded higher while crypto was booming. But the rally faded. Share prices dropped fast. Retail investors who jumped in during the hype cycle ended up stuck with losses.

Since Bitcoin hit its record high in October, it has dropped about 30%. Strategy’s shares are down 44% this year. Its mNAV ratio fell from more than 2 to about 1.1 as its token value dropped faster than the market cap.

Eric builds positions, expands activism, and plans tech for other DAT firms

Eric runs the $10 million EMJ Capital hedge fund in Toronto. He built his reputation pushing changes at companies like Yahoo and Opendoor.

In 2023, he bought Carvana stock at $15. It closed at nearly $448 on Monday. He started buying Opendoor again in July when it traded at 73 cents. It is now worth $6.50. He is also part of the “Open Army,” a retail group trying to revive the business.

He said his activism at Opendoor included pushing out the former CEO. He also holds shares in Nextdoor Holdings, which builds neighborhood-based social networks.

Eric plans to offer some of EMJ’s in-house tech to other DAT companies so they can manage hedging and risk.

He said the firm’s value will not come from mNAV. “We believe that we won’t be valued on mNAV, but on the value we create for others,” said Eric.

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