Rumble, a YouTube alternative popular with the far-right and conspiracy theorists, has become the latest company to consider adding bitcoin to its balance sheet.
Shares of Rumble Inc (RUM) rose 9%, reaching a high of $6.20 in over-the-counter trading on November 19 after the company's founder and CEO Chris Pavlovsky previously asked a question about X, which received widespread support from the crypto community.
"Should Rumble add Bitcoin($BTC
to its balance?" asked Pawlowski in the X survey, to which about 29,000 people answered "Yes."
“yeah. I will be happy to help if necessary," said Jack Mullers, CEO and founder of Strike, a bitcoin payments company.
Michael Saylor, chairman of Bitcoin buying MicroStrategy, offered to discuss with Pawlowski how this could be done, and Pawlowski seemed to agree.
Rumble shares closed up 2.5% during the day at $5.68, and then peaked after hours at $6.20, which has now dropped to $5.78, marking a 1.76% increase since the market closed, according to Google Finance.
Rumble, based in Florida and Ontario, operates a video sharing platform of the same name, known for its soft content moderation policy. Its cloud services division also operates the social media platform Truth Social, owned by Donald Trump.
Rumble has approximately 67 million monthly active users, and in September 2022 it began public trading on the Nasdaq exchange.
As of September 30, 2024, Rumble's balance sheet in the form of cash, cash equivalents and liquid securities was approximately $132 million.
In the third quarter, the platform also generated about $25 million in revenue, which is 39% more than last year.
The company's shares fell in value after the results for the third quarter were published last week, according to which the company's revenue fell short of analysts' expectations by 14%, and earnings per share (EPS) fell below expectations by 20%.
If Rumble adds bitcoin to its balance sheet, it will join the growing list of companies that have made the move this year.
On November 18, the Genius Group, an artificial intelligence company, took the first steps as part of its "bitcoin first" strategy, buying 110 bitcoins for $ 10 million. Ultimately, the company wants to store 90% of its reserves in bitcoins.
Meanwhile, the Japanese company Metaplanet has just bought $11.3 million worth of bitcoins. According to Bitcoin Treasuries, as of November 19, the company owns 1,142.2 bitcoins.
Semler Scientific, a medical equipment manufacturer, also recently acquired $17.7 million worth of bitcoins, increasing its assets to 1,273.
