Bakkt’s June agreement to buy a controlling stake in the business helped trigger the shift. Reports have disclosed that Phillip Lord, president of Bakkt International, will take the CEO job at the newly named firm, and Akshay Naheta, co-chief executive officer of Bakkt Holdings, will become chairman of the board.
Marusho Hotta is no startup. Founded in 1861, it opened one of Japan’s first kimono wholesale stores in 1894 and listed on the Tokyo Exchange in 1974.
Yet the company has struggled in recent years. Based on reports, Marusho Hotta logged a net income of minus 407 million yen ($2,724,400) for its most recent fiscal period.
Other textile players have also reported losses: Kitabo recorded a net loss of $785,000 for FY2024, even as it plans to buy about $5.4 million worth of Bitcoin as it moves into crypto and real-world asset ventures.
Reports note that Metaplanet has amassed enough Bitcoin to rank among the global top five corporate Bitcoin treasuries.
Loyalty firm Remixpoint, game maker Gumi, and retailer ANAP are other recent examples that have said they will add Bitcoin to their corporate strategies.
This is more than a name swap. For an organization founded in 1861 to become Bitcoin Japan signals a striking corporate pivot.
Whether the plan restores profitability or simply changes the company’s public image remains to be seen. The market will watch how shareholders react on November 11 and whether other traditional firms follow with larger Bitcoin treasuries.
Featured image from KKDay, chart from TradingView
