Rumble shares rise 9% as founder mulls scooping up Bitcoin

Rumble, a YouTube alternative popular among the far-right and conspiracy theorists, has become the latest company to consider adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet.

Rumble Inc (RUM) shares gained as much as 9%, hitting a high of $6.20 in after-hours trading on Nov. 19 after its founder and CEO Chris Pavlovski earlier posed the question on X, which saw strong support from the crypto community. 

“Should Rumble add Bitcoin to its balance sheet?” Pavlovski asked in an X poll, to which around 29,000 people answered “Yes.”

“Yes. Happy to help if needed,” said Jack Mallers, CEO and founder of Bitcoin payment provider Strike. 

Michael Saylor, chairman of the Bitcoin (BTC)-buying MicroStrategy, offered to discuss with Pavlovski how it could be done, which Pavlovski appears to have taken up.

Rumble shares closed up 2.5% on the day at $5.68 before reaching a peak after-hours at $6.20, which has now cooled to $5.78, a 1.76% gain since market close, per Google Finance.

Rumble, based in Florida and Ontario, runs a video-sharing platform of the same name known for its lenient content moderation policies. Its cloud services arm also hosts the Donald Trump-owned social media platform Truth Social.

Rumble has roughly 67 million monthly active users and began trading publicly on the Nasdaq in September 2022. 

As of Sept. 30, 2024, Rumble’s balance sheet of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities was approximately $132 million. 

The platform also brought in roughly $25 million in revenue in the third quarter, up 39% year-on-year. 

Its shares have been down since its Q3 results were reported last week, in which the company’s revenue missed analyst estimates by 14% and its earnings per share (EPS) fell short of expectations by 20%. 

Related: Microsoft shareholder proposes firm look into investing in Bitcoin

If Rumble adds Bitcoin to its balance sheet, it would join a growing list of companies that have taken the plunge this year.

Artificial intelligence firm Genius Group took the first steps in its “Bitcoin first” strategy on Nov. 18, purchasing 110 Bitcoin for $10 million. It eventually wants to hold 90% of its reserves in Bitcoin. 

Meanwhile, the Japan-based Metaplanet has just bought another $11.3 million worth of Bitcoin, with Bitcoin Treasuries data showing the firm now holds 1142.2 Bitcoin as of Nov. 19. 

Medical device maker Semler Scientific also added $17.7 million of Bitcoin recently, increasing its holdings to 1,273.

Magazine: Legal issues surround the FBI’s creation of fake crypto tokens