Briefly
- The AI agency goals to accumulate as much as 3,000 BTC over 12 months regardless of skinny reserves.
- Its newest earnings flagged “vital doubt” about continued operations.
- Analysts advised Decrypt such strikes could also be extra to reframe notion than repair fundamentals.
Tokyo-listed AI agency Quantum Options is getting ready to purchase as much as tens of millions in Bitcoin over the following 12 months by way of GPT Friends Studio, its lesser-known subsidiary primarily based in Hong Kong.
“Till now, neither our firm nor any group firms have ever held crypto property as reserve property,” it mentioned in a observe revealed final Wednesday, claiming that the transfer would assist it handle surplus funds, diversify its portfolio, and cut back international alternate dangers.
From a century-old textile producer to a struggling biotech startup and a debt-laden espresso chain, financially distressed firms are more and more turning to Bitcoin, and typically different cryptos, as a part of headline-grabbing treasury pivots.
Acknowledging the pattern as one thing that’s been occurring “amongst publicly listed firms and institutional buyers,” Quantum characterised Bitcoin treasury methods as a approach to “hedge in opposition to inflation and a method of preserving worth.”
Quantum additionally mentioned the crypto asset enterprise might be promoted by way of GPT Friends Studio underneath a phased funding plan, with acquisitions capped at 3,000 BTC over 12 months.
Property might be held in a devoted account at Hashkey Trade, a licensed platform in Hong Kong, with oversight from an inside management committee. An preliminary $10 million Bitcoin buy might be funded by way of borrowing, although additional financing has but to be secured.
Disclaimer: HashKey Trade is operated by HashKey Group. HashKey Capital, additionally a part of the HashKey Group, is considered one of 22 buyers in an editorially impartial Decrypt.
However regardless of the aggressive goal, Quantum Options is on shaky monetary floor.
The corporate posted a ¥160 million ($1 million) web loss in Q1 FY2026 and flagged “vital doubt” over its skill to proceed as a going concern. It closed the quarter with ¥146 million ($940,000) in money and ¥332 million ($2.1 million) in whole property, propped up partly by fairness issuance.
Quantum Options didn’t instantly reply to Decrypt’s request for remark.
“When robust corporations stack sats, it’s technique. When distressed ones do it, it’s a chance wrapped in hopium, chasing upside from the company treasury pattern,” Vincent Liu, chief funding officer at Kronos Analysis, advised Decrypt. “For many distressed corporations, it’s much less about hedging and extra about headlines, advertising conviction, not managing danger.”
Such strikes are likely to form notion as a lot as technique, Decrypt was advised.
“Positioning oneself as a Bitcoin monetary firm is the best approach for an organization to reevaluate its company worth,” Ryan Yoon, senior analyst at Tiger Analysis, advised Decrypt.
But, some go as far as to say “there’s a extra misleading facet to it,” the place coin holders put money into the corporate and use the funds to promote their very own cash, “aiming for a premium,” Yoon mentioned.
Strikes like these are “nearer to a model technique,” he added.
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