Coeptis dives 40% on Dogecoin mining pivot with Z Squared merger

Coeptis Therapeutics announced Friday a merger with Z Squared, a company focused on Dogecoin mining. Z Squared will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coeptis, and Coeptis will assume a new direction as a major player in digital asset mining.

As part of the deal, Coeptis will acquire 9,000 Dogecoin mining machines in exchange for equity in the company. The newly combined entity will concentrate on scaling Z Squared’s digital asset mining operations, primarily focusing on DOGE. Pending regulatory approvals and shareholder votes, the merger is expected to close in the third quarter.

Coeptis trades on the Nasdq under the ticker COEP. Shares plummeted nearly 40% on the news, and the company’s market cap currently sits at around $32 million.

Dogecoin trades around $0.19, according to The Block’s price data, and is one of the 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap ($27 billion).

“We are excited to take this step towards our goal of creating the largest publicly-traded company in the United States primarily focused on DOGE mining,” said Z Squared CEO David Halabu. “We’re proud of our strategy to bring retail and institutional audiences alike in the public markets a focused exposure to a DOGE asset that currently has over $20B in market capitalization. We believe we have assembled a stellar team that has the requisite expertise and infrastructure.”

The deal also includes a significant restructuring for Coeptis. The company will spin off its biopharmaceutical division, which specializes in cancer, autoimmune, and infectious disease therapies, to operate independently. The technology division, however, will remain with the newly merged company.

Halabu and COO Michelle Burke will lead the new entity. Current Coeptis President and CEO Dave Mehalick will exit from the Board of Directors upon closing. Halabu was the founder and Managing Partner of Group 10 Capital Management, while Burke previously served as CEO of crypto mining company Minting Dome.

For shareholders, this merger represents an opportunity to gain exposure to the booming Dogecoin market while remaining connected to Coeptis’ biopharmaceutical assets, according to the release.

“We are excited to bring this opportunity to our shareholders to become involved in the Dogecoin market space, while at the same time being able to remain involved in our biopharmaceutical operations as a result of the contemplated spin out of those operations at closing,” said Dave Mehalick. “I’ve been deeply engaged in the evolution of blockchain infrastructure and am aligned with the direction the new leadership intends to take the Company.”

The Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency gave the Shiba Inu-inspired token a big boost following Donald Trump’s presidential election victory last November. Intchains Group saw a surge in demand for its Dogecoin mining products, initially struggling to fulfill orders due to underestimating market demand. Several spot Dogecoin exchange-traded funds are awaiting review from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.