Hong Kong-listed gaming company BOYAA Interactive (00434.HK) has experienced a dramatic reversal in its financial performance due to its heavy investment in Bitcoin. The company reported a significant shift from substantial profits to notable losses.
On March 15, the company disclosed its full-year 2025 results, showing annual revenue of approximately HK$4.68 billion, representing a decrease of about 6.6% year-over-year. The company reported a net loss attributable to owners of approximately HK$239 million.
This contrasts sharply with the HK$969 million profit recorded in 2024, marking a complete turnaround from profitability to loss within a single year for this company that previously benefited greatly from cryptocurrency investments.
Behind these financial results lies the transformation journey of a established card and board game company over more than a decade. The company began with "Texas Hold'em" poker, navigated through prolonged difficulties following regulatory challenges, and eventually pivoted toward Web3 and Bitcoin investments as part of its strategic transformation.
However, as cryptocurrency prices experienced significant volatility, the company's profitability fluctuated accordingly.
The decline in Bitcoin prices directly contributed to the company's performance reversal from profit to loss. BOYAA Interactive remains primarily a card and board game company in terms of revenue structure. In 2025, the company generated approximately HK$443 million from online games, a slight decrease of 0.4% year-over-year, accounting for about 94.7% of total revenue.
Additionally, digital asset appreciation contributed approximately HK$21.68 million, a decline of 61.4% year-over-year, representing about 4.6% of total revenue. This compares to digital assets contributing 11.2% of revenue in 2024, indicating a significant reduction in this revenue stream.
The real impact on performance came not from operational revenue but from changes in the fair value of the company's substantial cryptocurrency holdings. In November 2024, the company exchanged 14,200 Ether for approximately 515 Bitcoin in the open market, with a total market value of about $49.48 million (excluding transaction fees).
Following this exchange, as of November 29, 2024, BOYAA held approximately 3,183 Bitcoin with an average acquisition cost of about $57,724 per coin. Throughout 2025, the company continued to increase its Bitcoin exposure.
Between August 5 and August 25, 2025, the company spent approximately HK$257 million to acquire about 290 additional Bitcoin, increasing its holdings to approximately 3,670 coins with an average purchase price of $62,878 per coin. Beyond using its own funds, the company also deployed most of its placement proceeds to further accumulate Bitcoin.
On September 12, 2025, BOYAA successfully placed approximately 59.973 million new shares, raising net proceeds of approximately HK$410 million. The company subsequently used about HK$370 million to purchase approximately 411 Bitcoin at an average price of $115,420 per coin.
By September 18, 2025, the company held approximately 4,091 Bitcoin with a total acquisition cost of approximately $279 million, averaging $68,114 per coin. However, cryptocurrency market movements did not align with the company's expectations.
Bitcoin, serving as a benchmark for the global cryptocurrency market, recorded a 125.32% gain throughout 2024 and even reached an all-time high of $126,251 on October 6, 2025. Subsequently, market conditions weakened, and prices continued to decline.
By the end of 2025, Bitcoin prices had retreated to approximately $87,000, resulting in an annual return of -6.3%, marking one of the rare annual losses since 2014.
The declining Bitcoin price directly affected BOYAA's financial performance. As of the end of 2025, the company held approximately 4,092 Bitcoin with an average cost of about $68,211 per coin. The company disclosed a fair value decrease of approximately HK$411 million for its digital assets in 2025, compared to a fair value increase of approximately HK$948 million in 2024.
This factor resulted in the company reporting an unaudited non-IFRS adjusted loss of approximately HK$192 million for 2025, compared to a profit of approximately HK$972 million during the same period in 2024. Excluding fair value changes in digital assets and equity investment partnerships, the company's unaudited non-IFRS adjusted net profit would have been approximately HK$129 million for 2025, representing a decline of about 37.2% year-over-year.
This indicates that the company's core business operations remained profitable, but cryptocurrency price volatility significantly altered the final accounting results. As of the end of 2025, the company held cash and cash equivalents of approximately HK$62.125 million, with digital assets having a fair value of approximately HK$2.918 billion.
BOYAA's board of directors recommended a final dividend of HK$0.0366 per ordinary share for 2025, totaling approximately HK$28.102 million. However, this represents a significant reduction compared to the 2024 dividend of HK$0.1064 per share, which totaled approximately HK$75.602 million.
Despite overall performance pressures, company management emphasized in their announcement that cryptocurrencies (primarily Bitcoin) are considered strategic assets for the company's Web3 strategy, with no immediate plans for disposal. The company stated that its online gaming business continues to generate stable cash flow, suggesting that cryptocurrency price fluctuations have no substantial impact on daily cash flow or business operations.
BOYAA's story traces back to the early stages of China's mobile internet gaming industry. Founded in 2004 by former Kingsoft Software engineer Zhang Wei and headquartered in Shenzhen, the company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in November 2013, becoming the first Chinese card and board game company to go public, with an offering price of HK$5.35 per share.
During its initial listing period, the company gained significant investor interest through several simple game products including "Texas Hold'em," "Fight the Landlord," and "Sichuan Mahjong." Driven particularly by its star product "Texas Hold'em," the company reached its performance peak in 2014 with annual revenue reaching RMB 945 million. In February of the same year, the company's share price reached HK$15.16.
However, this favorable period didn't last long. In 2018, market rumors suggested impending regulations for card and board online games, with speculation that Texas Hold'em games might face complete operational prohibition. In September of that year, Tencent's Texas Hold'em game "Everyday Texas Hold'em" announced its delisting and service termination, bringing regulatory concerns to widespread attention.
These developments significantly impacted BOYAA, whose core revenue relied heavily on "Texas Hold'em," leading to a revenue decline of over 30% in 2018. Simultaneously, the company experienced management turmoil. In July 2017, BOYAA announced that its Shenzhen subsidiary faced charges related to unit bribery, with Board Chairman Zhang Wei, as the subsidiary's legal representative, named as a connected defendant.
In September 2018, Zhang Wei resigned as executive director, CEO, and board chairman of BOYAA. Following his departure, early investor Dai Zhikong assumed the role of board chairman. Dai Zhikong, a notable figure in China's internet sector, developed the DISCUZ! community software in 2001, which became one of the world's most popular PHP community forum software products before being acquired by Tencent for RMB 280 million in 2010.
Prior to this, in 2007, Dai Zhikong and Hu Huan, then-wife of Zhou Hongyi, invested RMB 400,000 and RMB 300,000 respectively in BOYAA. Despite management changes, the company continued to face performance decline pressures.
In 2020, BOYAA recorded its first loss since listing, with a net loss attributable to owners of approximately RMB 45.102 million, compared to a profit of RMB 33.76 million in 2019. Alongside declining performance, BOYAA's share price decreased significantly, remaining below HK$1 for several years, typical of "penny stock" status.
Facing these challenges, the company decided to implement a Web3-focused strategic transformation in 2023. In December 2023, BOYAA began actively promoting Web3-related infrastructure development and Web3 game product research and development.
Throughout 2024 and 2025, while maintaining traditional online gaming operations, the company heavily invested in the Web3 sector, including project incubation investments and Bitcoin asset allocation. Simultaneously, the company gradually shifted its business focus toward overseas markets.
In 2025, the company launched eight new online casual card and board game products in regions including Southeast Asia and Europe. By the end of 2025, the company's portfolio included 27 online game products operating in 14 language versions.
Notably, the company sold its mainland China online game operations business at the end of June 2025, refocusing on Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas markets, yet overall gaming revenue didn't show significant decline.
The Web3 narrative initially drove share price recovery. During the second half of 2025, BOYAA's share price reached HK$9.36. However, as cryptocurrency markets corrected, the company's share price declined again, falling over 60% in the past six months.
As of March 16, BOYAA's shares closed at HK$2.96 in Hong Kong trading, with a single-day increase of 5.34%, giving the company a total market capitalization of approximately HK$2.273 billion.
Looking forward, the company maintains an optimistic outlook. BOYAA stated in its announcement: "The company maintains long-term optimism regarding the sustainable development of the Web3 industry and holds positive views on the future development of cryptocurrencies (primarily Bitcoin)."
Some institutions share similar views. James Butterfill, Head of Research at cryptocurrency asset management firm CoinShares, projected that Bitcoin prices could range between $120,000 and $170,000 in 2026.
However, for BOYAA, a more immediate concern may be that as a gaming company increasingly ties its balance sheet to cryptocurrency markets, future profitability will become increasingly dependent on Bitcoin price fluctuations. Until Web3 narratives fully materialize, such volatility will likely continue recurring.
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