Meitu may not be the first, nor the most successful, but it is undoubtedly one of the earliest companies to take the plunge.
As early as 2021, this Xiamen-based technology company invested $100 million to purchase Bitcoin and Ethereum, integrating them into its balance sheet. This was an extremely rare operation at the time. Ultimately, Meitu generated a profit of 570 million yuan at liquidation, of which 80% was used for shareholder dividends, constituting a real 'successful exit case for crypto assets.'
Although Meitu CEO Wu Xinhong now admits that if given a second chance, he might prefer asset allocation in the direction of business synergy, this transaction proved that Bitcoin can not only serve as a strategic allocation tool for enterprises but can also convert into shareholder returns in the right market window.
Today, we see more and more businesses following this path—starting with Bitcoin and then expanding to other chain assets. The case of Meitu is gradually being revisited by history.
Bitcoin remains the starting point for most businesses venturing into crypto. The Spanish coffee chain Vanadi recently announced an investment of over $1.1 billion to acquire Bitcoin and has completed its first purchase. The Japanese listed company Metaplanet has gone further, not only announcing a full transformation into an 'Asian version of MicroStrategy' but also enhancing its holdings through innovative derivatives strategies.
At the same time, more small and medium-sized enterprises are starting to attempt to include Bitcoin in their balance sheets. The Swedish digital asset brokerage and research company K33 recently purchased 10 Bitcoins, although its scale is far smaller than that of leading companies, this action continues the clear trend of enterprises moving from 'research' to 'holding'. Bitcoin is gradually becoming a strategic asset that possesses cross-scale adaptability—serving both large allocations and the flexibility for small and medium institutions to experiment.
Metaplanet currently holds 6,796 Bitcoins, with an average acquisition cost of about $89,492. In the first quarter of 2025, revenues of 770 million yen were realized through the sale of cash-secured Bitcoin put options, accounting for 88% of total revenue, while the contribution from traditional hotel business was less than 12%. Since announcing its strategic transformation, Metaplanet's stock price has increased nearly 30 times and introduced the 'BTC Yield' metric—year-on-year growth rate of Bitcoin holdings per share. This data reached 170% in Q1, which is 3.8 times that of MicroStrategy's comparable period. This model provides a clear path for Asian enterprises to access Bitcoin assets within a compliance framework and further validates the sustainability and leverage effect of corporate holdings.
Meanwhile, crypto reserve strategies are starting to expand from Bitcoin to other sovereign chain assets. The education technology company Classover Holdings signed a $500 million convertible note agreement with Solana Growth Ventures, planning to use 80% of the funds to purchase SOL. This transaction will significantly enhance its capital exposure in the Solana network and reflects the strategic layout of enterprises outside of Bitcoin assets beginning to take shape.
Although crypto reserves bring valuation boosts and new revenue models to enterprises, the risks of concentrated holdings and volatility cannot be ignored. Currently, 61 listed companies have included Bitcoin in their asset reserves, with a cumulative holding of 673,897 Bitcoins, accounting for 3.2% of the total Bitcoin supply. MicroStrategy alone holds 86% of this. According to Standard Chartered's calculations, if Bitcoin's price falls more than 22% below the average entry price for enterprises, it will trigger potential financial pressure and liquidation risks. Once the Bitcoin price falls below $90,000, more than half of the enterprises' reserves will face unrealized losses, and a scenario similar to that of Core Scientific in 2022, which was forced to sell due to liquidity issues, may repeat.
Crypto reserve strategies are transitioning from single asset allocation to ecological diversification. Metaplanet and Classover demonstrate a different profit model than 'long-term holding': treating crypto assets as adjustable structures rather than pure positions. This poses a new proposition for enterprises—how to build a truly flexible, volatility-resistant, and scenario-adaptive crypto asset allocation strategy while improving book value.
The answer to this question may be more complex than in the past, but the opportunities are greater.
