Japanese gaming publisher Gumi announces plans to buy $6 million worth of Bitcoin for treasury

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

Japanese gaming and blockchain company Gumi has announced a 1 billion yen ($6.5 million) investment in Bitcoin (BTC) in a Feb. 10 letter to the market. 

The investment will occur from February to May and will represent 4.3% of Gumi’s $150 million market cap. Following the news, Gumi stock climbed 3.65%.

The company also revealed that it became the first publicly listed Japanese company to participate as a validator for BTC staking protocol Babylon in the second quarter of the fiscal year ending April 2025.

Babylon lets users stake their Bitcoin to earn rewards. The staked BTC is used as security for other protocols, creating a Bitcoin Secured Networks layer. The protocol has over $5.4 billion in total value locked (TVL), based on DefiLlama data.

Gumi’s Board of Directors approved the purchase as part of its strategy to strengthen financial operations within its blockchain-focused business, which has become a central pillar of the company’s growth.

According to Babylon’s website, Gumi has 7.99 BTC — worth over $770,000 — staked on the platform, earning a 5% commission.

BTC staking

Gumi anticipates new revenue sources from capital appreciation and additional validator rewards by purchasing Bitcoin and using it for staking. 

The decision aligns with the firm’s Web3 ambitions, as it seeks to deepen its presence in decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain-based financial services.

Notably, Gumi’s website reveals the company is already a node operator for eight blockchains, including Ethereum, Sui, and Avalanche. 

Moreover, the Japanese gaming publisher has a blockchain unit responsible for efforts mixing games and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Gaming companies Capcom and Double Jump are reported as Gumi partners.

Gumi’s website also highlights investments in the NFT marketplace OpenSea and the gaming-focused decentralized organization Yield Guild Games. 

The company plans to conduct quarterly valuations of its Bitcoin holdings and incorporate gains or losses into its financial statements. It has also stated that any significant financial impact from this investment will be disclosed promptly.