The Meitu application interface is displayed on a mobile phone in Yichang, China’s central province of Hubei, February 22, 2021.
Costfoto | Barcroft Media | Getty Images
Meitu, a Chinese company that makes a photo editing application, bought bitcoin and ether, becoming the latest company to buy cryptocurrencies.
The Hong Kong-listed company said on Sunday that it bought $ 22.1 million worth of ether and $ 17.9 million worth of bitcoin on March 5th.
Meitu is pursuing the electric companies Tesla and Square in the acquisition of bitcoin. But the Chinese application maker seems to be the first major company to buy ether, a cryptocurrency that runs on the ethereum blockchain.
Bitcoin is based on its own blockchain, the technology behind it.
Ethereum is a completely different network. It is an open-source blockchain that allows developers to build applications on it. The cryptocurrency ether can be used to pay for or interact with services built over the etereum network. These are often called decentralized applications or dApps.
Meitu said in a statement that “blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt both the financial and technology industries, similar to how the mobile internet has disrupted the computer internet and many other offline industries.”
“The Council considers that cryptocurrencies have ample room for appreciation of value and by allocating part of its treasury to cryptocurrencies it can also serve as a diversification of cash holdings (which is subject to depreciation pressure due to aggressive increases in money supply by central banks). globally) in treasury management, “Meitu said.
The move demonstrates to investors that Meitu “has the vision and determination to embrace technological evolution and is therefore preparing for its foray into the blockchain industry,” Meitu said.
Meitu shares were 3.3% higher at 13:44 Hong Kong time, after falling 14% earlier that day.
Meitu noted that cryptocurrency prices are “still extremely volatile.”
The company said it is “evaluating the feasibility of integrating blockchain technologies into its various overseas businesses,” including the potential launch of ethereum-based applications or investments in other blockchain businesses.