SoftBank Is Buying Bitcoin Again, After $130M Loss in 2018. Is This Time Different?

SoftBank returns to crypto years after founder Masayoshi Son lost $130M on bitcoin.

What to know:

SoftBank is backing a new bitcoin investment firm, Twenty One Capital, alongside Tether, Bitfinex, and Cantor Fitzgerald.

The move marks a return to crypto for the $308.7B asset manager, years after founder Masayoshi Son lost $130M on a personal bitcoin bet.

SoftBank’s renewed crypto interest follows a surprise $2.4B quarterly loss and its inclusion in a $100B U.S. AI infrastructure initiative.

Japanese investment giant SoftBank is dipping its toes back into crypto by backing a new bitcoin (BTC) investment vehicle, Twenty One Capital, in conjunction with Tether, Bitfinex, and Cantor Fitzgerald.

For some, the SoftBank Group—which has $308.7 billion assets under management—taking an interest in bitcoin is a welcome development and another sign of mounting institutional crypto adoption. After all, SoftBank functions more or less like a Japanese sovereign wealth fund, according to Jeff Park, head of alpha strategies at Bitwise.

But for seasoned observers, it could be more of a déjà-vu than a breakthrough.

Flashback to 2019, SoftBank made headlines when its founder, Masayoshi Son, took a gigantic loss on a personal bitcoin investment.

Son had taken exposure to cryptocurrency in late 2017, when the ICO mania was at its peak and bitcoin was trading at an all-time high of around $20,000.

With bitcoin now trading at $93,000, Son’s investment would have been very profitable had he held on. But he sold in early 2018 as bitcoin began to crash, resulting in a $130 million loss, according to the Wall Street Journal.