Meitu CEO Wu Xinhong "regrets investing in Bitcoin": there were profits, but the troubles far exceed the gains.

Meitu has profited from its bitcoin investment, but its CEO admits that the move has caused too much trouble. The company has now liquidated its cryptocurrency position and turned to partnering with Alibaba to focus on the core business development of AI. (Synopsis: Investing in BTC and ETH is a loss? Meitu: Consider selling tokens and optimistic about AI becoming a new driving force for growth) (Background supplement: Big Guy Dialogue" Meitu Cai Wensheng, Dragonfly Feng Bo, Alibaba Zeng Ming: Web1 evolves to Web3) Meitu, a Hong Kong-listed company (Meitu Inc. ) Meitu, a Hong Kong-listed company, has received high attention from the market in the past for its cryptocurrency investment strategy. Although the company made a net profit of about 571 million yuan by buying and selling bitcoin, its co-founder and CEO Wu Xinhong recently bluntly stated that the investment caused far more troubles than real gains, prompting the company to finally decide to liquidate its position and shift its strategic focus back to its core business to seek a more stable growth path. Holding cryptocurrencies is "annoying" Meitu spent about $100 million on 940 bitcoin (Bitcoin) and 31,000 ether (Ethereum) in March and April when the cryptocurrency market was hot in 2021. It became one of the few Hong Kong listed companies to publicly include cryptocurrencies in its asset allocation at that time, a move that once caused heated discussions in the market. The company's management said at the time that the purchase of cryptocurrencies was an exploration as a store of value and potential integration of the business. However, this forward-looking investment strategy, while delivering book returns, also poses unexpected challenges for the company. Wu Xinhong revealed mixed feelings in his recent public statements: "We bought cryptocurrencies purely as an investment, and we made 570 million yuan after deciding to sell them at the end of last year. While this investment has brought considerable benefits to the company, it has also brought a lot of unexpected troubles and distractions." These "troubles" are believed to include the management effort expended in dealing with the wild volatility of the cryptocurrency market, investors' doubts about the company's strategic focus, and the potential compliance pressures associated with holding large amounts of crypto assets in the relatively uncertain regulatory environment at the time. For a company with image processing and social platforms as the core, the investment attributes of cryptocurrencies are not highly related to its main business, and excessive involvement may disperse corporate resources and affect the development of core competitiveness. Soaring after selling Meitu chose to liquidate its cryptocurrency holdings when the price of Bitcoin was close to the stage high from the end of 2023 to the beginning of 2024, successfully cashing out about US$180 million, achieving a net profit of nearly US$80 million (about 571 million yuan), which is undoubtedly a successful swing operation. However, shortly after Meitu completed the sell-off, the cryptocurrency market ushered in a new round of skyrocketing rally. Entering the beginning of 2025, the price of Bitcoin continued to climb, briefly exceeding the $100,000 mark and reaching a maximum of about $105,200. Market analysts estimate that if Meitu chooses to continue holding these crypto assets, its market capitalization will far exceed the level at the time of the sale, and it may miss out on more than 30% of the additional potential gain. According to Bloomberg terminal data, after Meitu's liquidation, global institutional investors' interest in cryptocurrencies has not decreased, but increased. For example, Japanese listed company Metaplanet continues to increase its holdings of bitcoin as a major fiscal reserve asset. In addition, in anticipation of former US President Donald Trump's friendly signal on cryptocurrencies, some sovereign wealth funds have also begun to test the waters on a small scale and include bitcoin in their asset allocation portfolios, which together have boosted market demand and exacerbated Meitu's regret of "missing out" subsequent gains. AI investment: alliance with Alibaba In the face of the vicissitudes of the crypto market and the potential "fear of missing out" (FOMO), Meitu has shown a clear strategic determination and chose to shift its focus back to its core business, which it has been cultivating for many years. On May 21, 2025, Meitu announced a major strategic partnership with Chinese tech giant Alibaba (Alibaba). The scope of this cooperation is extensive, covering many cutting-edge fields such as e-commerce, AI technology and cloud computing power. Under the agreement, Meitu will issue US$250 million worth of convertible bonds to Alibaba. The bonds are over a three-year period with a coupon rate of 1% and a swap price set at HK$6 per share. Alibaba's vast ecosystem and technical strength are expected to bring new growth momentum to Meitu's AI imaging, virtual humans, and e-commerce monetization. Meitu also plans to use 80% of the net profit from the previous cryptocurrency sale to pay a special dividend to reward long-term supporting shareholders. Related reports Microsoft and Alibaba hint at "AI computing power bubble"? Reducing server spending, bitcoin mining companies fall Metaplanet threw another 117 million magnesium to buy bitcoin, with a total position of 8888, becoming the world's top ten enterprise holders Where is the future of Web3? Former Alibaba Strategy Chief Strategy Zeng Ming: AI+Crypto is Web3 (Meitu CEO Wu Xinhong "regrets investing in Bitcoin": there is money, but the troubles far exceed the returns" This article was first published in BlockTempo's "Dynamic Trend - The Most Influential Blockchain News Media".