A vice chancellor in the Delaware Court of Chancery has stripped full anonymity from a stockholder list tied to BTC treasury company Empery Digital, adding pressure to an already fast-moving legal fight with activist investor ATG Capital.
The dispute has intensified as Empery Digital’s stock and bitcoin position have both deteriorated. Over the past year, the company’s share price fell 72%, according to Protos. One year ago, the stock traded at $10. By Friday, it was at $2.84. Over that same period, the company’s bitcoin treasury dropped from 4,018 BTC bought at an average cost of $117,552 each to 1,279 BTC reported as of August 6.
Bitcoin holdings were cut to 1,279 BTC
Protos said Empery Digital sold bitcoin multiple times as prices moved lower and locked in losses worth tens of millions of dollars. The company reported holding just 1,279 BTC on August 6, down 68% from its earlier 4,018 BTC position.
At the earlier stage, the company held 4,018.36 BTC by August 11 at an average purchase price of $117,552 per coin. By the time of the report, each of those BTC was worth about $65,000 based on the article’s figure.
The report also said Empery Digital is now worth less than the bitcoin it holds. Of the 1,279 BTC still on its books, 954 BTC are restricted under outstanding corporate loan agreements.
Judge orders disclosure within the litigation
Last week, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will ruled on who gets access to the names of Empery Digital stockholders that ATG is using in its effort to replace seats on the company’s board.
ATG had redacted the list of names it assembled for that campaign, describing it as a “protected business strategy.” Will disagreed, writing, “The names of stockholders are not, in and of themselves, a business strategy.”
The order requires ATG to turn over the list to Empery’s counsel. Even so, the names will remain hidden from the public for now. The court allowed ATG to keep the material marked “highly confidential,” limiting disclosure to parties involved in the case.
ATG and Empery are fighting over board nominations
ATG’s complaints go beyond the company’s weak stock performance. The activist fund alleges that Empery Digital’s board used bylaws unfairly to shut down a proxy voting contest. Empery Digital has pushed back with counterclaims, saying ATG’s board nomination paperwork was genuinely defective.
Although the formal portions of the trial have already concluded, the case is not over. Protos reported that final closing briefs still need to be filed before the court issues its verdict.
From Volcon to Empery Digital
The current saga began a year ago. Electric off-road vehicle maker Volcon closed a private placement worth more than $500 million on July 21, 2025, and installed Empery Asset Management principal Ryan Lane as chairman and co-CEO. Less than two weeks later, it renamed itself Empery Digital.
By August 11, the company held 4,018.36 BTC at an average cost of $117,552 apiece. It later sold most of that treasury and was left with 1,279 BTC after realizing steep losses.
The article also cited a July 10, 2026 post on X from Pledditor claiming that EMPD had sold most of its bitcoin, taken down its BTC treasury dashboard, said it did not plan to buy more bitcoin, warned it might sell the rest, and announced a pivot to AI.
Proxy contest costs reached $7.83 million
Defending against ATG in the proxy fight had already cost Empery Digital $7,828,001 through June 30, according to the report.
ATG Capital Opportunities Fund LP is described as an outside activist fund rather than a group of insiders. Gabriel Gliksberg founded ATG Capital Management in November 2020 and has proposed nine directors for Empery Digital.
His fund holds 4.5 million Empery Digital shares. That represented 14.7% of the company in March, and Protos said the stake now accounts for a larger slice because Empery’s own buybacks have reduced the size of the float.
On March 27, Empery said ATG’s proposed slate of directors, along with a separate self-nomination from shareholder Tice P. Brown, were both “invalid and misleading” under its bylaws. The company added that absent a “valid court order,” “any votes or ballots cast for any of ATG Capital’s purported nominees will be void and of no force or effect.”
