Chinese app giant sells all Bitcoin ahead of $100,000 milestone

Key Takeaways

Meitu sold 940 Bitcoin and 31,000 Ethereum for $180 million before Bitcoin reached $100,000.
80% of the proceeds from Meitu’s crypto sale will be distributed as a special dividend.

Chinese tech company Meitu had sold its entire crypto holdings of 940 Bitcoin and 31,000 Ethereum for $180 million, exiting the market just before Bitcoin’s surge to $100,000, according to a recent statement.

The company, known for its photo editing apps, initially invested $100 million in crypto assets in March and April 2021, spending $49.5 million on Bitcoin and $50.5 million on Ethereum.

The disposal occurred in two phases. Meitu first sold approximately half of its holdings for $80 million last month. In December, the company sold the remaining 470 BTC at an average price of over $95,000 and 15,703 ETH at approximately $3,500, generating over $100 million.

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After completing two rounds of sales, Meitu secured a total of $180 million, yielding approximately $80 million in net profits.

Meitu plans to distribute 80% of the net proceeds as a special dividend to shareholders, with the remaining funds allocated to expanding its core photo, video, and design product offerings.

The company is ditching crypto for AI. It is shifting its focus to its core photo and video editing business, which has seen remarkable growth thanks to AI advancements.

“Given the recent strong growth momentum in the Group’s photo, video and design products business which primarily adopts a premium subscription model, the Group intends to invest further in this business. The Board takes the view that the Cryptocurrencies Disposals provided the Group with a good opportunity to realize a sizable gain on its investments in the Acquired Cryptocurrencies,” the company stated in its announcement.

Bitcoin surpasses $100,000 for the first time in history

Bitcoin hit a historic milestone on Wednesday evening, surging past $100,000 and briefly touching $103,000, CoinGecko data shows.

Ethereum also saw a major surge on the same day, soaring past $3,900 for the first time since mid-March. It is now trading at around $3,800, up 3.5% in the last 24 hours.

The ongoing rally is mainly influenced by optimism surrounding a crypto-friendly environment in the US as soon as Trump officially returns to the White House.

US President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he had selected pro-crypto Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Trump also celebrated Bitcoin’s historic rise after it hit the six-figure milestone. There is widespread expectation that he will create a strategic national reserve of Bitcoin to hold all Bitcoin that the US currently has and acquire more as the time goes on.

The US government currently holds around 210,000 BTC, valued at approximately $14 billion, which have been seized through law enforcement actions.