Credits: Reuters TOKYO (Reuters) -Eric Trump took the stage in Tokyo on Monday to throw his support behind Japanese bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet, as the U.S. president’s family expands its crypto ventures internationally.
The second son of President Donald Trump was named in March as an adviser to Metaplanet, which holds more than $2 billion in bitcoin, and his attendance at the company’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting followed an appearance last week at the Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong.
Metaplanet called the meeting to approve a plan that would allow it to sell up to 550 million new shares overseas for 130.3 billion yen ($884.41 million), with the bulk of the proceeds to be spent on buying more bitcoin. Three people who came out of the meeting held in the Shibuya area of central Tokyo said the capital-raising plan was approved.
Metaplanet declined to comment on Eric Trump’s involvement in the meeting, when Reuters contacted the company before the event began. It did not respond to a subsequent email seeking comment on the capital-raising vote. A representative for Eric Trump did not respond to requests for comment.
Donald Trump has promised to be the “crypto president”, saying he backs the asset class because it can improve the banking system and increase the dominance of the U.S. dollar.
Some of Trump’s businesses in areas such as crypto, which have added substantially to his wealth, benefit from U.S. policy shifts under him and have invited criticism.
American Bitcoin, a miner of the cryptocurrency founded by Eric Trump and his brother Donald Trump Jr., is aiming to list on the Nasdaq this month. In Hong Kong, Eric Trump expressed confidence the cryptocurrency would reach $1 million in value within several years. Bitcoin traded at $108,046.79 on Monday, down from its record of $124,480.82 touched last month.
COSTUMES AND FOOD TRUCKS
Previously a hotel operator, Metaplanet’s pivot into crypto has paid off handsomely. Citing Michael Saylor’s bitcoin treasury firm Strategy MSTR.O as an inspiration, founder and chief executive Simon Gerovich liquidated most of Metaplanet’s hotel assets, already in the doldrums due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and piled into the cryptocurrency starting in April 2024.
At the meeting venue on Monday, it was a festive scene, with people in costumes lined up at the entrance, food trucks assembled, and a K-Pop band due to perform. Media were not allowed to observe the meeting.
In the afternoon, Gerovich and Eric Trump took the stage wearing matching Metaplanet jerseys, according to shareholder videos posted on social media.
“I think a lot of people, Simon included, and certainly me included, would say that Michael Saylor kind of led the front in the United States,” Eric Trump said, referring to the push into cryptocurrencies. “There’s no question that Simon’s led the front in all of Asia.”
Selling bonds and warrants, Metaplanet has continued to buy bitcoin and is now the seventh-largest holder among public treasuries globally, according to BitcoinTreasuries.net. It announced on Monday it added another 1,009 coins to bring its total hoard to 20,000.
Its shares have surged about 740% in the past 12 months, compared with a 13% advance in the benchmark Topix index. Even so, the stock has tumbled by more than half since its peak in June, and was down 5.5% on Monday.
Metaplanet appointed Eric Trump earlier this year to a newly formed board of advisers, calling him a “leading voice and advocate of digital asset adoption worldwide”.
The company, which trades on the Standard section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, was previously known as Red Planet Japan and focused on hotel operations. Before that, it was a wholesaler of music CDs.
The company’s subsidiary, Red Planet Hotels Japan, filed for bankruptcy in May 2024.
($1 = 147.3300 yen)
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