Shareholders Approve Kimono-Maker Marusho Hotta’s ‘Bitcoin Japan’ Rebrand

The Japanese kimono and textiles maker Marusho Hotta will change its name to Bitcoin Japan at a shareholders meeting next month.

In an official Marumasa Hotta release, the firm said the name change will be officially instated at a meeting of shareholders on November 11.

Marusho Hotta also announced that the company would change its English name to “Bitcoin Japan Corporation” as it begins stockpiling Bitcoin (BTC).

The company first announced its new Bitcoin treasury business operations after a June deal saw the US-based crypto custody player Bakkt Holdings agree to buy a controlling share in Marusho Hotta.

Marusho Hotta: Bitcoin Pivot Under Bakkt

The Japanese firm is one of the country’s most storied and best-known kimono makers and textile producers.

It also operates a range of contemporary and hybrid fashion brands. But after years of falling sales and stagnation on the Tokyo Exchange, it was taken over by the Tokyo-based RIZAP Group in 2017.

Bakkt made its move in June, claiming it hopes to become Marusho Hotta’s largest shareholder and transform the firm into “a leading Japanese Bitcoin treasury company.”

In its September 26 release, Marusho Hotta wrote:

“We have decided to launch a new business, the Bitcoin treasury business, so we can expand our business scope and expand into new fields in the future. We are also considering the launch of finance-related business operations.”

These operations, it appears, will be primarily related to Marusho Hotta’s Bitcoin treasury operations.

New Management Confirmed

The firm has also confirmed that Bakkt International President Phillip Lord will become Bitcoin Japan’s new CEO.

Akshay Naheta, the co-chief executive officer of Bakkt Holdings, will assume the new role of Chairman of the Board of Directors.

The company added that its new management structure would “further align the interests of directors and shareholders.”

This, the firm said, will help the company “achieve a medium- to long-term improvement in corporate value.”

More Textiles Firms Turn to BTC?

Marusho Hotta was founded in 1861 and opened one of Japan’s first kimono wholesale stores in 1894. It floated on the Tokyo Exchange in 1974.

Earlier this year, Kitabo, a TYO-listed synthetic yarns producer, announced its own plans to buy Bitcoin and “enter the cryptoasset and Real-World Asset (RWA) sectors.”

Kitabo said it plans to buy around $5.4 million worth of Bitcoin in an initial foray into the market.

The firm, like many others in the world of Japanese textiles and traditional clothing, has seen revenues plummet in recent years.

In 2021, the EU-Japan Center for Industrial Cooperation noted that “old, traditional [Japanese] retailers have seen sales diminish as they become less and less viable.”

The likes of Kitabo and Marusho Hotta have certainly felt the pinch. After racking up years of annual net losses, Kitbo posted a net loss of $785,000 for FY2024.

Marusho Hotta, meanwhile, posted a net income of minus 407.32 million yen (-$2,724,439) for the same period.

Metaplanet Leads Charge

Kitabo said that it hopes to build up cross-border business avenues and partnerships with overseas firms.

The firms are also likely to launch BTC lending services as part of their radical rebranding efforts.

This year has seen scores of Japanese firms from all sorts of business sectors enter the Bitcoin treasury sector.

Metaplanet has led the charge, snapping up enough Bitcoin to move into the global top five BTC treasury firms.

Other firms, like the loyalty points provider Remixpoint, game-makers like Gumi, and the fashion retailer ANAP, have also thrown their hats into the Bitcoin ring in recent months.

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