‘China’s MicroStrategy’ Meitu sells all its Bitcoin and Ethereum: Asia Express

The ‘Asian MicroStrategy’ exits crypto

Chinese selfie app developer Meitu has cashed out all of its cryptocurrency holdings, earning roughly an 80% profit. The company began selling its crypto assets in November. 

In a Dec. 4 statement, Meitu confirmed that it no longer holds any cryptocurrencies.

Meitu invested in 31,000 Ether and 940 Bitcoin in the spring of 2021, earning the nickname Asia’s MicroStrategy.

The company invested an aggregate of $100 million in the cryptocurrencies and ultimately sold them for $180 million, not a bad little return for three years of hodling.

The company stated that the proceeds from the sale would be allocated to working capital, business expansion, and the distribution of special dividends, which can be seen as a bonus to its shareholders.

Headquartered in Xiamen, a port city in southeastern China, Meitu also operates branches in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States. It is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with its investment arm, Meitu Investments, registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Meitu’s decision to liquidate its cryptocurrency holdings runs counter to the broader trend in Asia. 

Japan’s Metaplanet, which can now be said to hold the “Asian MicroStrategy” nickname with its aggressive Bitcoin accumulation, now holds over 1,100 BTC. Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based Booya Interactive recently exchanged its $49 million Ether holdings for Bitcoin.

Metaplanet also announced a partnership with SBI VC Trade, a subsidiary of financial services giant SBI Holdings, to host a Bitcoin giveaway lottery for 2,350 eligible shareholders, further cementing its commitment to cryptocurrency.

Coinbase’s SEA stablecoins

Coinbase Wallet and Base are helping developers in Southeast Asia create apps designed to support future stablecoins tied to Thai and Philippine currencies, Nikkei Asia reported. 

Thailand’s oldest bank, Siam Commercial Bank, demonstrated ForEx fee-less dollar-to-baht stablecoin conversions through its crypto wallet on Coinbase’s Ethereum layer 2 Base for attendants at the recent Devcon event.

A full rollout for such a product would first require the bank to assess a pilot program with regulators for approval, said Base creator Jesse Pollak.

The report added that Coinbase’s exchange itself does not have plans to enter Southeast Asian jurisdictions. However, its Singapore arm secured the Lion City’s crypto license in October 2023.

Blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis ranks both Thailand and the Philippines among the top 20 nations in crypto adoption. Among Southeast Asian nations in that list, the two stand out as the only ones that have transaction volumes in centralized exchange above the global average. 

Meanwhile, they are the only ones with a lower share of DEX transaction volume when compared to the global average, and other DeFi activities.

Japan DMM Bitcoin shuts down

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin has ditched efforts to revamp operations and will liquidate. DMM will transfer its remaining customer assets to SBI VC Trade.

In May, DMM Bitcoin suffered a $320 million hack in a cyberattack where North Korean state hacking group Lazarus has been accused of conducting a private key exploit.

The perpetrators stole 4,502 Bitcoin at the attack, worth more than $450 million today.

The hermit kingdom’s cyber agents have been listed as prime suspects in some of the major attacks against crypto firms recently, including a flurry of hacks on Asia-based exchanges like WazirX, BingX and Indodax.

According to cyber sleuth ZachXBT, some of the stolen funds from the DMM Bitcoin incident passed through Huione Guarantee, a Cambodian marketplace that has allegedly risen as a money laundering hot spot for scammers.

Recently, Cambodia’s internet regulator reportedly blocked access to 102 websites, including 16 cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance and OKX.

In August, Chainalysis said that Huione Guarantee processed more than $49 billion worth of crypto transactions since 2021.

South Korea’s corporate Bitcoin account rumors

Media outlet Korea Economic Daily reports that the Financial Services Commission is expected to publish a roadmap for corporate crypto accounts by the end of the year.

The local outlet reported unnamed sources as saying that the roadmap is expected to include phases of permissions, starting with local governments and universities, with companies and financial institutions pushed down the priority list. 

However, the FSC denied that it has come to a decision on the issue related to corporate crypto accounts, and intends to hold additional discussions

The nation’s crypto market is fueled primarily by retail investors due to local trading rules. To open an account in a local cryptocurrency exchange, the investor must first open a real-name bank account with the exchange’s partner bank. Only exchanges that have paired with partner banks are able to provide on and off-ramp services and only five in the nation have met these requirements so far.

However, corporations are currently prohibited from opening this particular bank account, effectively prohibiting them from investing in crypto. 

Retail investors have pushed South Korea as a key crypto market with the local currency emerging as the world’s top fiat trading pair earlier this year.

South Korea’s crypto transactions reportedly topped $35 billion in the 24 hours that had a six-hour martial law earlier this week, more than Indonesia’s $30 billion trading volume from January to October.

Yohan Yun

Yohan Yun is a multimedia journalist covering blockchain since 2017. He has contributed to crypto media outlet Forkast as an editor and has covered Asian tech stories as an assistant reporter for Bloomberg BNA and Forbes. He spends his free time cooking, and experimenting with new recipes.