Maintaining a proper relationship with cryptocurrency, moving on to a new phase. What lies at the root of Remixpoint, which continues to challenge change. | CoinDesk JAPAN

Maintaining a proper relationship with cryptocurrency, it is the foundation of Remixpoint that continues to challenge change and move on to a new phase.(https://img.gateio.im/social/moments-5e3f16507b1bce6ebfa142aea81d8579)

The movement to hold Bitcoin as an asset is spreading to Japanese companies. One of the pioneers is Remixpoint, a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard, engaged in energy, resilience, and medical businesses.

Announced to purchase a total of 1.5 billion yen worth of cryptocurrency on September 26, 2024, and the following day, on the 27th, purchased approximately 750 million yen worth of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others. Subsequently, continued purchases were made, and most recently, on January 30, 2025, it was announced that a resolution was made to purchase "2 billion yen worth of cryptocurrency." As a result, the investment amount from September will reach 10 billion yen. On February 3 and 4, 500 million yen worth was purchased respectively, and at the time of writing this article, the cryptocurrency held has reached 9 billion yen in acquisition value.

Remix Point's sales for the fiscal year ending in March 2024 were 20,487 million yen, with an operating profit of 1,743 million yen. The forecast for the fiscal year ending in March 2025 was revised upward in February 2025 from the figures disclosed in November, with sales of 24.2 billion yen and an operating profit of 970 million yen. When we started buying Bitcoin, we had approximately 14 billion yen in 'excess funds' in current deposits, which we used for the purchase.

Corporate bitcoin purchases have been led by the US company MicroStrategy. Recently, they have been raising funds from the market by issuing stocks and corporate bonds to purchase Bitcoin, with the point being that they are using their own funds, and even if the value of Bitcoin were to drop to zero, it would not affect their core business.

I asked Takahashi Yoshihiko, President and CEO, why Remix Point decided to start purchasing cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and what they are aiming for in the future.

Cash management of approximately 14 billion yen in surplus funds

- Since September 2024, actively purchasing Bitcoin. Is this inspired by the initiatives of Strategy Co. in the United States?

Mr. Takahashi: Actually, I'm not conscious at all.

In the announcement on September 26, it is written that 'as part of the cash management strategy, invest and hold cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, etc., to diversify the value fluctuation risk of the holding currency.'

Mr. Takahashi: As of September, there was almost no borrowing, but there was about 14 billion yen in cash and deposits. Initially, I thought of it as funds for M&A for business expansion. However, M&A is not easy, and there are overwhelmingly more cases of failure. I had to be extremely cautious. I didn't want to rush. However, it is inefficient from a capital efficiency perspective to just hold Japanese yen as cash and deposits. So, I decided to invest in cryptoassets.

As you know, the approval of physical Bitcoin ETF in the United States in January 2024 was a significant milestone that established Bitcoin as a financial asset. Furthermore, the election of President Trump in November was also significant. The disclosure at the time of purchase in November stated, 'It is believed that Bitcoin has entered a price increase trend that has been repeated after the halving, taking into account the results of the presidential election in the United States.' The purchase of Cryptocurrency has currently reached 9 billion yen.

■Cryptocurrency holdings status

• Bitcoin: 536.52BTC
• Ethereum: 901.44ETH
• Solana: 13,920 SOL
• XRP: 1,191,204XRP
• Dogecoin: 2,802,311 DOGE

The premise is not to affect existing businesses

──Is it because you are looking at different possibilities from Bitcoin by investing in multiple altcoins?

Mr. Takahashi: There is a aspect of aiming for altcoin. In the past, when Bitcoin entered a rising trend and the market as a whole rose, altcoins showed better performance. However, the basic is still Bitcoin. That is unshakable. Realistically, about 7.4 billion yen out of 9 billion yen is Bitcoin.

We also select altcoins from the top market capitalization. We have been operating the Cryptocurrency exchange Bitpoint, so we leverage our expertise in altcoins as well.

──Even if the main business is going well and there is plenty of cash on hand, in the case of Japan, it may still be difficult for companies to purchase Bitcoin.

Mr. Takahashi: It has been significant for us as a company operating the exchange that there has been a familiarity with cryptocurrency. Many of our employees and management also hold cryptocurrency. That would be a significant difference from other companies.

However, outside directors, including lawyers, were involved, and the process, such as explanations, was carried out carefully. Cryptoassets have volatile price movements, so it is a major premise that it does not affect existing businesses even if the price falls. I am positive about the future price trend, but it is not necessarily always the case. There is a possibility that it may drop significantly when cash is needed. We make purchases while considering these possibilities within the scope that does not affect existing businesses.

Individual investors have been waiting for

What was the reaction to buying Bitcoin like?

Mr. Takahashi: I was very positive. Negative voices are not reaching my ears at the moment. To be honest, I did not expect to receive this much support. Our presence is also increasing online, and individual investors seem to be looking for companies to invest boldly.

──Individual investors have been eagerly awaiting companies to boldly invest in Cryptocurrency.

Mr. Takahashi: Financial institutions should not only have a sufficient understanding of cryptocurrency, but should also have long been aware of its great potential. This is because financial assets are basically digital. Now, stocks and government bonds do not exist on paper, they are all digital. In other words, there should be no resistance to cryptocurrency, which is also digital.

That being said, even on a global scale, financial institutions are cautious about cryptoassets. In that sense, individual investors might be supporting companies like us that actively invest in cryptoassets, don't you think?

Cryptocurrencies have experienced significant declines in the recent past, such as the 2022 Terra/Luna incident (the collapse of TerraUSD, an algorithmic stablecoin backed by cryptocurrency Luna) and the 2023 FTX collapse. Despite incidents of outflow, bankruptcy, strict regulations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and exclusion of cryptocurrency-related companies from banks, cryptocurrencies have managed to revive each time. It cannot be denied that cryptocurrencies possess tremendous power.

Moving into a New Phase with Web3 Investment

──Are such perspectives and interpretations cultivated from being a certified public accountant and having experience at companies like Nomura Securities?

Mr. Takahashi: I think I was rather obstructive at first. I had an understanding of digital, but since Cryptocurrency does not have dividends or interest, the price is basically determined by supply and demand, so it is completely different from the financial assets I have been dealing with. At first, there was confusion. Looking back now, there are times when I think I should have started investing in Cryptocurrency earlier.

- In the recent release, it is stated 'Towards Japanese Cryptocurrency Strategy Companies.' What kind of business are they aiming for?

Mr. Takahashi: I want to work not only on investing in cryptocurrency itself but also on businesses related to cryptocurrency/Web3. We launched a cryptocurrency exchange in 2016. The latest release, Remix Point, wanted to say that it has returned to the world of Bitcoin.

Currently, we are working on energy, resilience, and medical businesses, and it is expected that the resilience business centered on energy and batteries will continue to grow in the future. The medical business is also said to be one of the megatrends.

The business we are currently engaged in, such as the energy business, started around 2014, all within the past decade. Originally starting from software development, there have been challenging times due to changes in the business environment. We have been repeating trial and error. That is why decision-making speed is fast, and such corporate culture is also reflected in this Bitcoin investment.

Around 2013, when sales were at their lowest, the water in the water server was for customers, to the point where employees couldn't drink it. From there, a small company continued various challenges, and in 2016, it started a cryptocurrency exchange business (obtaining the first license). Bitpoint Japan, which operated the exchange, became a subsidiary of SBI Holdings in May 2022, and completely divested in March 2023. Currently, it is purchasing cryptocurrency, but the capital comes from the transfer fee at that time. Therefore, it could be said to be an investment from cryptocurrency to cryptocurrency. Looking back now, Remix Point has continued to grow along with the fluctuations and developments of Bitcoin.

With the approval of the Bitcoin ETF and the birth of President Trump, it seems that we are entering a new phase, and Remix Point also aims for a new phase in Web3.

｜Interview and Text: CoinDesk JAPAN Advertising Production Team
｜Photo: Keisuke Tada