Shares of NovaBay Pharmaceuticals surged nearly 19% after the company announced a rebrand to Stablecoin Development Corporation. The firm disclosed it holds over two billion SKY tokens and plans to focus on the stablecoin economy, supported by a $134 million private placement from Tether Investments. Its stock ticker will change to SDEV on April 3.
Shares in NovaBay Pharmaceuticals jumped nearly 19% after the company announced it would change its name to Stablecoin Development Corporation. NovaBay Pharmaceuticals CEO Michael Kazley stated the company’s plan is to access cash flows within the growing stablecoin economy.
“The name change to Stablecoin Development Corporation reflects our conviction that stablecoins represent the most compelling structural opportunity in digital finance,” he said. It adds to a wave of companies over the last year that have pivoted to a crypto strategy to improve their fortunes.
The company’s stock ticker will change from NBY to SDEV, effective April 3. It has also disclosed that it holds two billion Sky (SKY) tokens as of March 16, representing more than 8% of the total supply.
NovaBay Pharmaceuticals began life in 2000 as a California-based biopharmaceutical company focused on eye care products. The company disclosed in a January SEC filing that it was changing tactics to operate under an “on-chain holding company framework.”
As part of the pivot, NovaBay Pharmaceuticals entered into a $134 million private placement backed by Tether Investments, an affiliate of the stablecoin issuer. The company has since acquired more than two billion SKY tokens and has generated cumulative staking rewards of 26.6 million SKY tokens.
Under its new framework, the company said it can “hold protocol-aligned digital assets for extended periods.” Efforts are also underway to continue buying additional SKY tokens on the open market, according to the announcement.
At this stage, the SKY token is the only digital asset approved under the company’s operating framework. However, the company flagged “stablecoins as an increasingly important component of global digital financial infrastructure” and said it has a particular interest in yield-bearing stablecoins.
“These instruments represent a compelling evolution in digital finance, functioning as productive financial assets that unlock new primitives for savings, treasury management, and capital formation,” the company stated.
