Chinese game developer Boyaa rides bitcoin boom as shares rise ninefold in Hong Kong

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The company, which develops online card and board games, started investing in digital currencies in 2023

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Boyaa started investing in digital currencies in 2023. Photo: Reuters

Zhang Shidongin Shanghai

Published: 4:41pm, 25 Nov 2024Updated: 6:08pm, 25 Nov 2024

Boyaa Interactive International, an obscure Chinese online gaming company, is up ninefold in Hong Kong trading this year as investors use the stock as a proxy for bitcoin, which has been on a tear since Donald Trump won the race to reclaim the White House.

Boyaa shares have jumped 811 per cent this year, beating all member companies of the key indices that track Hong Kong’s markets. Meituan is the best performer from the Hang Seng Index this year with a 98 per cent gain, while Laopu Gold has surged almost 400 per cent, making it the biggest winner in the Hang Seng Composite Index.

Shenzhen-based Boyaa has increased its bitcoin investments over the past year. As of November 21, it held 2,688 units of the cryptocurrency, generating an investment gain of about US$120 million, according to the company’s latest earnings report.

Boyaa shares have gained – as has bitcoin – since Trump won the US presidential election. The president-elect was once a crypto sceptic, but became a fan on the campaign trail, buoyed by donations from digital-asset firms. He has promised looser regulation, pledged to build up a stockpile of bitcoin and his transition team has reportedly discussed appointing the first-ever crypto tsar to oversee the nation’s digital-asset policies.

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