{"text":[[{"start":8.25,"text":"This article only represents the author's own views."}],[{"start":11.95,"text":"Boyaa Interactive International Ltd. (0434.HK) has transformed over the last two years, increasingly seen as a “bitcoin concept stock” as it drifts from its original core gaming business. As its bitcoin holdings grow, the gaming veteran’s earnings have become closely tied to price swings for the notoriously volatile cryptocurrency. But the company may be pursuing ambitions beyond simply stockpiling bitcoin."}],[{"start":40.4,"text":"Boyaa rose to prominence through its Texas Hold’em games before being hit by a regulatory crackdown on card and board games in China. Over the last two years, the company has attracted growing investor attention for its move into bitcoin. A sharp rise for the cryptocurrency in 2024 brought Boyaa HK$948 million ($121 million) in gains that year, turbocharging its annual profit to HK$969 million. Investors even viewed Boyaa as a Hong Kong edition of bitcoin treasury company Strategy Inc. (MSTR.US) at one point, sending the Chinese company’s shares surging in tandem with Web3 and other bitcoin plays."}],[{"start":86.9,"text":"But as bitcoin prices retreated, Boyaa recorded HK$411 million in losses from changes in the value of its holdings last year, sending it into the red with a net loss of HK$239 million. The bleeding is continuing this year, with the company warning last week that its loss ballooned by 110% to 120% year-on-year in the first quarter, as weak bitcoin prices continued to wreak havoc on its balance sheet. That said, excluding the digital asset value changes, the company’s profit for the quarter actually rose by 85% to 90% year-on-year."}],[{"start":125.55000000000001,"text":"Boyaa held 4,092 bitcoins at the end of last year, which it acquired at a total cost of about $279 million, implying an average of roughly $68,000 per bitcoin. According to the company, these bitcoin holdings are not merely investments, but are gradually being parlayed for use in Web3 gaming projects."}],[{"start":145.70000000000002,"text":"In its 2025 annual report, Boyaa for the first time formally outlined a “three-in-one” strategy centered on “gaming applications, ecosystem development, and value storage.” Under the model, its card and board game business provides it with a relatively stable revenue flow, while bitcoin is positioned as a core strategic asset within its Web3 ecosystem."}],[{"start":168.00000000000003,"text":"The company disclosed that part of its bitcoin holdings has already been deployed directly into Web3 infrastructure. For example, its MTT Network game public chain has allocated 1,000 bitcoins as staking assets to support blockchain security. Meanwhile, its Web3 game wallet, YAAKO Wallet, has committed 500 bitcoins as liquidity reserves for cross-chain asset transfers. Its Web3 poker platform, MTT Sports, also uses bitcoin as rewards for player tournaments."}],[{"start":200.60000000000002,"text":"A Web3 ecosystem"}],[{"start":202.90000000000003,"text":"The company appears to be building a Web3 gaming ecosystem underpinned by bitcoin. Web3 games generally refer to gaming models that integrate blockchain technology, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies, allowing players to own, trade and even transfer in-game assets instead of leaving them fully controlled by game publishers."}],[{"start":223.70000000000005,"text":"Over the past several years, many companies tried to build new gaming economies around a “play-to-earn” model. But as the crypto market cooled, many of those projects quickly unraveled due to collapsing token prices and unsustainable financial structures. To date, Web3 gaming has yet to achieve mainstream adoption."}],[{"start":243.30000000000004,"text":"Boyaa’s online gaming revenue was relatively stable last year at approximately HK$443 million, down just 0.4% year-on-year. That said, its underlying user metrics continued to deteriorate, at least in terms of user numbers. Its monthly active users (MAUs) plunged 34.5% from 4.15 million to 2.72 million last year, while paying users fell by an even steeper 54.7% from 201,000 to just 91,000."}],[{"start":274.00000000000006,"text":"The falling user numbers mean Boyaa’s ability to maintain its revenue increasingly depends on higher-spending users, rather than user growth. For example, mobile average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) for its Texas Hold’em games jumped 67.2% year-on-year last year, while ARPPU for other mobile card and board games surged 175%. The figures suggest the company is shifting toward a model that targets higher-spending users in smaller numbers, rather than relying on mass-market player growth."}],[{"start":306.80000000000007,"text":"The company’s heavy move into cryptocurrency comes with growing risks. Boyaa held only about HK$62.12 million in cash at the end of last year, while the value of its digital assets had ballooned to HK$2.92 billion. In other words, Boyaa’s balance sheet has become heavily “cryptoized.” When bitcoin prices rise, the company’s earnings and net asset value can expand rapidly. But the reverse is also true: a prolonged downturn in crypto prices could place significant pressure on Boyaa’s profitability and valuation, which is what is happening now."}],[{"start":340.6000000000001,"text":"From being China’s first listed card-and-board game company to reinventing itself as a Web3 stock, Boyaa’s recent transformation mirrors the broader search among many Chinese internet companies looking for “second lives” as their older businesses mature and stagnate. So far, however, investors remain highly cautious about the company’s Web3-plus-bitcoin strategy."}],[{"start":364.00000000000006,"text":"Boyaa’s shares have fallen about 42% over the last 52 weeks, significantly worse than bitcoin’s roughly 21.8% decline over the same period. That seems to show Boyaa has not only become a proxy for crypto assets, but is even a magnifier for swings in the volatile market."}],[{"start":383.40000000000003,"text":"With its Web3 initiatives still in the investment phase and lacking a proven stable business model, investors are increasingly treating Boyaa as a highly volatile crypto play rather than a traditional gaming company with predictable cash flow. That serves the company well when bitcoin prices are strong, but isn’t very reassuring in the current climate of weak prices."}],[{"start":414.8500000000001,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779266953_5998.mp3"}