According to BlockBeats, on August 28, as reported by Fortune magazine, the stock price of cancer drug developer MEI Pharma nearly doubled just days before the announcement of its $100 million cryptocurrency treasury strategy in mid-July this year, despite not filing any significant updates with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, issuing a press release, or having much discussion on social media. MEI Pharma is not the only company to experience an unusual stock price increase before announcing a cryptocurrency purchasing strategy. Fortune magazine found similar patterns in other small public companies, suggesting that insiders had advance knowledge of some announcements, according to finance professors, investors, and corporate CEOs.
A spokesperson for MEI Pharma declined to comment. The spokespersons for four other companies—Kindly MD, Empery Digital, Fundamental Global, and 180 Life Sciences Corp—that experienced unusual stock price fluctuations before cryptocurrency purchases did not respond to requests for comments. The spokespersons for two other cryptocurrency asset management companies, VivoPower and Sonnet BioTherapeutics, which had similar stock price fluctuations, also declined to comment.
However, some of those benefiting from the rise in cryptocurrency-related prices are not retail investors, but individuals connected to companies or external parties who obtained private information, seemingly profiting by breaking news early. The ETH treasury company SharpLink saw its stock price more than double from $3 to $6 in the three trading days prior to the announcement, despite not filing any documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or issuing a press release. 'There must have been a leak because they reached out to too many investors, making it difficult to control,' said the CEO of another cryptocurrency fund management company involved in the transaction.
