On August 10, 2026, Hong Kong-listed gaming firm BOYAA (00434.HK), famously dubbed the "cryptocurrency king of the stock market," issued a profit warning. It projected a loss attributable to equity holders of approximately HKD 7.90 billion to HKD 8.00 billion for the first half of 2026. Just one year prior, the company had recorded a mid-term profit of HKD 226 million, fueled by the Bitcoin bull run.
From a profit of HKD 226 million to a projected loss of HKD 800 million, BOYAA has seen its fortunes reverse in just twelve months. This dramatic shift is a paper "avalanche" triggered by Bitcoin's price halving from its all-time high of USD 126,000. According to the announcement, the sole reason for the first-half loss is that "during the first half of 2026, the price of Bitcoin decreased, and the digital assets held by the Group are expected to record a decrease in fair value." As of the end of 2025, the company held approximately 4,092 Bitcoins, with an average cost of about USD 68,211 per coin.
Where the downturn began
During the first half of 2026, Bitcoin's price tumbled from around USD 85,000 at the start of the year. The first quarter saw a decline of about 22%, marking the worst Q1 performance since 2018. The second quarter added another 13% drop, with June alone falling around 18%—the steepest monthly decline since 2022. By June 30, Bitcoin had fallen to a range of approximately USD 58,000 to USD 59,500, a cumulative decline of over 50% from its 2025 peak of roughly USD 126,000. With 4,092 Bitcoins held at an average cost of USD 68,211, the price fall from USD 85,000 to USD 59,000 per coin represented a loss of roughly USD 26,000 per coin. This translates to a total fair value decrease of about USD 106 million (approximately HKD 830 million), closely aligning with the projected loss of HKD 7.9 to 8.0 billion.
More concerning is that BOYAA did not reduce its holdings during the price decline. On July 10, 2026, the company instead purchased an additional 108 Bitcoins, raising its total holdings to 4,201 coins. As of July 24, the company held a total of 4,201 Bitcoins, with an average unit price of about USD 68,211. On July 31, the entire cryptocurrency market plunged, with Bitcoin dropping over 3%, further pressuring the holding cost. While the HKD 800 million projected loss is stark, the company's announcement made a deliberate effort to highlight a point easily overlooked: excluding non-operating factors like fair value changes in digital assets and equity investments, the company's profit attributable to equity holders for the first half of the year is expected to increase by approximately 120% to 125% compared to the same period in 2025.
This indicates that BOYAA's core gaming business is not only not losing money but is actually improving. For the full year 2025, the company's gaming revenue was largely flat (a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.4%), but markets in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas effectively filled the gap left by exiting the mainland China market. The average revenue per paying user for mobile Texas Hold'em surged 67% year-on-year. In the first half of 2026, online game revenue is expected to increase compared to the same period in 2025, serving as the main driver of core profit growth.
In other words, BOYAA is experiencing a starkly divided financial reality: its gaming business is profitable, while its Bitcoin holdings are losing money; core operations are improving, yet its book profit is collapsing. The company's Bitcoin saga has been one of the most dramatic capital narratives in the Hong Kong stock market. In 2024, riding the Bitcoin bull run, it recorded a net profit attributable to the parent company of HKD 969 million, earning its "cryptocurrency king" title. However, in 2025, as Bitcoin's price fell from its USD 126,000 peak to USD 87,000, the company recorded a fair value decrease of about HKD 411 million in digital assets, swinging from a full-year profit to a loss of HKD 239 million.
Looking ahead, entering 2026, Bitcoin's price fell further from around USD 85,000 at the start of the year to roughly USD 59,000 by the end of June, a decline of over 30% in half a year. The 4,201 Bitcoins held by BOYAA, with an average cost of USD 68,211, correspond to a fair value of approximately HKD 2.86 billion. If Bitcoin's price continues to hover below USD 60,000, the company will face ongoing pressure from fair value changes in its digital assets in the second half of the year. Yet, the company's management seems unwilling to cut losses and exit. In March 2026, the company sought shareholder approval to increase its cryptocurrency purchases by up to USD 70 million (about HKD 546 million) over the next 12 months. On July 10, it bought another 108 Bitcoins. The company has clearly stated that its "long-term target of holding 21,000 Bitcoins remains unchanged."
The case of BOYAA serves as a highly cautionary example for all listed companies involved in digital assets. Bitcoin can, in a single turn, lift a gaming company with annual profits of less than HKD 500 million to the peak of its performance, and just as quickly drag it into an HKD 800 million loss abyss. The company's fortunes rise and fall with Bitcoin. When a gaming company's fate becomes deeply intertwined with the price fluctuations of a single cryptocurrency, it is no longer just competing in the gaming industry, but facing the systemic volatility of the global financial markets. The other side of this double-edged sword has yet to fully reveal itself.
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