The interface of the Meitu app will be displayed on February 22, 2021 on a mobile phone in Yichang, Hubei Province in central China.
Costfoto | Barcroft Media | Getty Images
Meitu, a Chinese company that manufactures a photo editing app, bought bitcoin and ether, which has become the latest firm to buy cryptocurrencies.
The Hong Kong-listed company said on Sunday it was buying $ 22.1 million in ether and $ 17.9 million in bitcoin on March 5.
Meitu follows electric car company Tesla and Square who buy bitcoin. But the Chinese appmaker appears to be the first major company to buy ether, a cryptocurrency that works on the ethereum blockchain.
Bitcoin is based on its own blockchain, the technology that supports it.
Ethereum is a very different network. It’s an open source blockchain that allows developers to build apps on it. The cryptocurrency eater can be used to pay for or communicate services built on top of the ethereum network. These are often called decentralized applications or dApps.
Meitu said in a statement that “blockchain technology could have the potential to disrupt existing financial and technology industries, similar to the way mobile internet has disrupted the PC Internet and many other offline industries.”
“The board believes that cryptocurrencies have enough room to appreciate in value and by allocating a portion of its treasury to cryptocurrencies, it can also serve as a diversification to hold cash (which is subject to to depreciation pressure due to aggressive increase in money supply by central banks worldwide). Treasury management, ”said Meitu.
The move shows investors that Meitu ‘has the vision and determination to embrace technological evolution, thus preparing its foray into the blockchain industry,’ Meitu said.
Meitu shares were 3.3% higher at 13:44 Hong Kong time after hitting more than 14% earlier in the day.
Meitu noted that cryptocurrency prices are ‘still very volatile’.
The company said it was “evaluating the possibility of integrating blockchain technologies into its various overseas businesses”, including launching etherum-based apps, or investing in other blockchain businesses.