Under the leadership of Dai Zhikang, the gaming upstart has been quietly accumulating cryptocurrency.

In mid-August, BOYAA disclosed that as of the announcement date, it holds 3,416 Bitcoin at an average cost of approximately $59,300 per coin, making it the largest Bitcoin holder among Hong Kong-listed companies.

With Bitcoin prices soaring and reaching $122,300 per coin on the 12th, the company's cryptocurrency holdings are valued at approximately $420 million, equivalent to about 3 billion yuan.

It's hard to imagine this was originally a gaming company.

Chairman Dai Zhikang has considerable credentials, having earned the title of one of the "Beijing IT Four Young Masters" alongside Li Xiang, founder of Li Auto, and others. He invested in Huobi as early as 2014, making substantial profits.

A firm believer in Bitcoin, Dai has been accumulating large quantities continuously. Despite already doubling his paper profits, BOYAA has never disclosed any reduction in holdings.

**Major Bitcoin Holder**

BOYAA can be considered a Bitcoin "die-hard fan."

"We firmly believe that Bitcoin will become a mainstream asset in the future world," the company emphasizes, stating that expanding Bitcoin reserves is a key corporate strategy.

This year, such assets have experienced roller-coaster performance, causing many investors' hearts to race. However, BOYAA has remained calm and continued to increase its positions.

For example, on February 28, when Bitcoin prices briefly fell below $80,000 and over 200,000 people globally faced liquidation, an announcement signed by Dai Zhikang showed that BOYAA invested $7.95 million that day, purchasing approximately 100 Bitcoin at under $80,000 per coin, demonstrating precise market timing.

As of August 11, BOYAA held approximately 3,416 Bitcoin. Compared to the end of June, it added 63 coins in just 41 days, equivalent to purchasing more than one Bitcoin per day on average.

Investing quickly and aggressively, this gaming company entered the market relatively late, only venturing into cryptocurrency in 2023 with a $5 million budget as a test.

Experienced investor Dai Zhikang was the core figure driving this decision. He personally invested in Bitcoin exchange Huobi in 2014 during its angel round, showing strong interest in Bitcoin.

As an investor with keen instincts, he believed Bitcoin aligned with future trends and had significant expansion potential, making participation essential for close observation.

Now, Dai Zhikang leads BOYAA in direct market participation through continuous rounds of accumulation with unwavering determination. According to calculations, the company has cumulatively spent over $200 million, approximately 1.5 billion yuan.

The company states it plans to use equity and debt financing methods, as well as cash flow generated from its gaming business, to increase Bitcoin holdings. Additionally, it holds small amounts of other digital assets including Ethereum and Tether.

The 2023 and 2024 shareholder meetings approved two cryptocurrency purchase authorizations totaling up to $200 million.

**Supporting Core Business**

Despite its obsession with cryptocurrency purchases, BOYAA's main business remains gaming.

From January to June, network gaming revenue accounted for 97.3% of total revenue. Among its 226 employees, over 95% work in gaming-related roles.

BOYAA has been developing games for 20 years, achieving global success with "Texas Hold'em Poker." During its peak, this single game generated annual revenue exceeding 500 million yuan, bringing substantial profits.

However, this money-making machine has gradually dimmed.

According to financial reports, the ARPPU (Average Revenue Per Paying User) for the web version of "Texas Hold'em Poker" has declined both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter.

To ensure stable development of the gaming business, management is focusing on overseas markets and other card games, while seeking to combine gaming with Web3 technology.

"Gaming and Web3 have natural integration points. We want to leverage our advantages to create high-quality Web3 gaming products," said Dai Zhikang.

Essentially, BOYAA's business primarily relies on selling game coins (virtual tokens) and other virtual items for revenue.

Dai Zhikang points out that game coins in card games are similar to stablecoins.

This extends to the possibility that gaming users could become new Web3 users, and high-quality Web3 gaming products might drive rapid growth in blockchain users.

In other words, from Dai's perspective, BOYAA's Bitcoin accumulation isn't "neglecting its main business" and could potentially support the gaming operations.

Regarding Web3 gaming, BOYAA has made progress. In February this year, it announced a second investment in MTT ESPorts. After completing the additional investment, the total value of both investments equals $10 million.

MTT ESPorts focuses on Web3 infrastructure and Web3 game development and operations. Its MTT ESPorts gaming platform has accumulated over 500,000 registered users.

**Unpredictable Risks**

Dai Zhikang's Bitcoin accumulation has significantly boosted investor sentiment.

Before 2024, BOYAA's stock price remained below HK$1 for years, becoming a "penny stock." Its entry into cryptocurrency clearly lifted the stock price. Particularly this year, with Bitcoin's strong performance, the stock price has risen approximately 90%.

"Building the company into a pure, leading Web3 listed company" - this statement appears at the beginning of the annual report's "Letter to Shareholders," closely associated with Dai Zhikang's image.

According to Dai Zhikang's plan, BOYAA aims to become the Asian version of MicroStrategy, learning from its successful experience and continuously increasing Bitcoin holdings to maintain a leading position.

MicroStrategy is the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holder with ambitious plans to raise an additional $42 billion by 2027 for cryptocurrency purchases.

Emulating MicroStrategy, BOYAA's actions are equally aggressive, also using the Bitcoin yield (the ratio change between total Bitcoin holdings and issued shares) as a key performance indicator.

The board led by Dai hopes to drive company development through three major strategies: steady gaming business development, expanding Bitcoin reserves, and developing Web3 games while investing in and incubating Web3 projects.

Where he will lead BOYAA remains unknown. Historically, Dai has indeed been quite successful.

At age 20, he started his entrepreneurial journey with 800 yuan, founding Discuz! and building it into a leading community software platform before selling it to Tencent for 280 million yuan.

Transitioning to angel investing, Dai Zhikang started with only 1 million yuan. At age 26, he invested 400,000 yuan in BOYAA and achieved a 1,000-fold paper return when the company went public.

Many consider Dai Zhikang "unconventional," but this time he's also choosing the long-term approach. To date, BOYAA has no plans to sell any Bitcoin.

"Cryptocurrency market price volatility may adversely affect investment-related business," BOYAA warns in its annual report.

For example, the book value of its cryptocurrency holdings lost HK$315 million from January to March, indicating that this accumulation behavior carries downside price risks.

The transformation to Web3 is still underway for BOYAA. Like a coin with two sides, accumulating Bitcoin brings appreciation potential but also harbors significant uncertainty.