As a Bitcoin treasury company, where do we aim to go── "Not just holding, but engaging in the ecosystem" Interview with Remixpoint's new CEO Mr. Tashiro | CoinDesk JAPAN

Remixpoint announced that it will purchase a total of 1.5 billion yen worth of cryptocurrency in September 2024. As of July 2025, the Bitcoin (BTC) Holdings amount to over 1168 BTC, with a total acquisition cost of over 17.1 billion yen.

The purchase of Bitcoin by companies was pioneered in 2020 by the U.S. company MicroStrategy (now Strategy). Initially, there were many skeptical voices, but now more and more U.S. publicly traded companies are following suit. In Japan, the efforts of Metaplanet in 2024 served as a catalyst.

Remixpoint initially promoted the purchase of Bitcoin as a "defense" against the depreciation of the yen using "surplus funds" exceeding 10 billion yen, but in June announced its aim to acquire more than 1000 BTC, shifting to an "offensive" stance. Furthermore, Takashi Tashiro, the current chairman and former representative director and president of SBI Group's cryptocurrency exchange Bitpoint Japan, has newly taken office as the representative director and CEO.

As more companies hold Bitcoin, Mr. Tashiro stated that "security is becoming more important." In fact, he has been advocating for Bitcoin holdings since around 2020. What is the goal of Remixpoint, led by Mr. Tashiro, and what is their strategy?

Solving the Power Problem in Mining

〈Remixpoint's Website〉──The president's message on the website states, "We want to evolve Remixpoint into a 'next-generation treasury management' company." What specific type of company are we aiming for?

Mr. Tashiro: Until now, "Bitcoin treasury companies" have simply bought Bitcoin and held it. We are expanding into the energy business and aim to actively engage in the entire Bitcoin ecosystem. Specifically, we want to develop mining support in collaboration with the renewable energy and battery storage sectors, and extend to the subsequent utilization of Bitcoin.

One of the issues with Bitcoin is that it consumes a large amount of electricity in mining, but we believe we can contribute to its solution. We generate clean electricity using renewable energy. Then, we store that electricity using our energy storage system. This will enable mining with clean electricity not only during the day but also at night. In the future, as power and environmental issues become more significant, the Bitcoin ecosystem may face bottlenecks. We want to address such issues.

──Although the order of the conversation has been reversed, when did the involvement with crypto assets (virtual currencies) actually begin?

Mr. Tashiro: Personally, I have been paying attention since around 2012. My professional involvement began when I joined the cryptocurrency exchange Bitpoint Japan, which was under the Limix Point umbrella at the time, in December 2016. I was in charge of marketing and business planning, and in 2022, I became the president. Since Bitpoint Japan joined the SBI Group, I have also served as an executive in the cryptocurrency-related companies of the SBI Group.

In this instance, upon assuming the position of president, I have become the chairman of Bitpoint, passing the frontline management to my successor and focusing on the management of Remixpoint.

Security, leveraging experience in exchange operations for BTC procurement

──Recently, there has been an increase in companies announcing their purchases of Bitcoin, but it raises the question of whether it is precisely because of their track record and experience that they stand apart from companies that simply hold Bitcoin.

Mr. Tashiro: I think so. The most important thing to truly become a "Bitcoin treasury company" is security. I believe that incidents will occur in the future where companies that announce Bitcoin purchases will be hacked and have their Bitcoins stolen after purchasing a large amount. We will utilize the security knowledge we have cultivated in the cryptocurrency exchange business to ensure robust protection first. The importance of security may not receive much attention unless an incident occurs, but it is extremely important.

At Bitpoint Japan, we invest hundreds of millions of yen annually to establish our system, yet maintaining a high level of security remains challenging. New attackers emerge daily. It is hard to believe that a single company can execute security at the same level.

Another important point is to acquire at a lower cost. It may seem obvious, but to efficiently and quickly purchase a large amount of Bitcoin, certain knowledge is required. We know how to procure it cheaply, efficiently, quickly, and while minimizing risk.

For example, should you buy 1 BTC for 17.4 million yen or for 17.5 million yen? The difference of 50,000 yen or 100,000 yen has a bigger impact as the purchase amount increases. Also, when procuring through OTC (over-the-counter) trading, it becomes important to assess the fairness of the price offered by the counterparty.

Personally, I would like to aim for a world-class level in purchasing Bitcoin. The scale of procurement will be larger than it is now, and at that time, a difference of 1% or 2% in the procurement price will make a significant difference. I believe that is where our strengths can be leveraged.

Background of the Shift to an Aggressive Stance

──In February of this year, during an interview with Mr. Takahashi (former president and current CFO), he mentioned that he would purchase Bitcoin with the surplus funds he had on hand. After that, the company shifted to an aggressive stance of raising funds to purchase Bitcoin, and now a new president has been appointed. What was behind this change?

Mr. Tashiro: The purchase of Bitcoin by companies has been proposed since 2020 when MicroStrategy (now Strategy) started buying Bitcoin in the United States. However, I think it was difficult to take certain risks while existing businesses were doing well. Understanding from the board of directors and explanations to shareholders are also necessary. In that sense, in 2024, Metaplanet took the lead domestically in presenting a Bitcoin Holdings strategy and received high praise from the market, which was a significant turning point.

Remixpoint has begun purchasing Bitcoin as a form of "protection." In light of the declining value of the Japanese yen, they believed that holding large amounts of cash would undermine corporate value. However, on the other hand, there were also concerns that purchasing Bitcoin might negatively impact stock prices.

However, the stock price rose due to Bitcoin purchases, and we were able to gain a certain level of appreciation from investors. As a company, we made the decision to take another step forward and focus on Bitcoin and Web3, which has led us to where we are now.

──The benefits of Bitcoin Holdings for companies, particularly for those in the energy sector like Remixpoint, have been recognized for their synergies from an early stage.

Mr. Tashiro: I believed that it was a good match for publicly listed companies. By raising funds to purchase, one can enjoy the value if the price rises. On the other hand, even if it falls, the purchased Bitcoin will not decrease or disappear. It is sufficient to acquire it while keeping the risks in check.

If there is a certain level of risk, the downward phase could last for several years, during which maintenance costs may arise. If there are no existing profitable businesses, it will be necessary to sell the Bitcoin held to cover the company's maintenance costs. This would mean selling off assets even though future price increases are anticipated. We recognize that our existing business is doing well and generating cash flow, allowing us to maintain 100% of the Bitcoin we purchased. We see this as a strength.

Real Key Management and Risk Management

── It was mentioned that security is important in aiming to become a "Bitcoin Treasury Company," but how is the management of the Bitcoin holdings currently being handled?

Mr. Tashiro: The internal structure is not yet at the level of an exchange operator, so we are using external custody. Of course, I understand the principle of "Not your keys, not your coins," so I want to consider whether we will manage it ourselves in the future. However, I understand that treasury management in the U.S. is handled by custody firms.

──As more companies hold Bitcoin, will the custody business expand in Japan?

Mr. Tashiro: There is a possibility of that. A major reason why the custody business is not expanding now is the absence of institutional investors. As companies like ours increase and Bitcoin ETFs are approved in Japan, leading to more issuers of ETFs, custody service providers will emerge.

Due to my previous work experience, I have seen cases where Bitcoin is managed in-house, but there were also many risky situations. There were cases where a single person could control it. What would happen if that person suddenly fell ill? In the past, there was an incident where the president of an overseas exchange passed away suddenly while traveling, and customer assets could not be withdrawn.

How many people is it appropriate to distribute the management to? For example, in key management for exchanges, it is necessary to have multiple reliable and stable personnel, and to rotate them to avoid collusion, which requires a considerable number of people.

It is necessary to consider cases where a trusted individual may fail. We are carefully checking whether they are involved in gambling. Overseas, there have been incidents where the children of cryptocurrency industry stakeholders have been kidnapped and ransom demanded, and we must eliminate any foreseeable risks.

There is also the perspective of whether the residence is a detached house or an apartment. Detached houses are generally considered to be higher risk. Furthermore, what is the security like in the apartment? Also, higher floors tend to be more advantageous than lower floors. At BitPoint, the personnel who had the authority to hold the keys checked up to such points.

──This kind of story doesn't usually get conveyed to the public.

Mr. Tashiro: Whether or not you understand it to that extent. It makes a huge difference whether you have actually experienced it or not. There are likely differences in the level of effort among exchange operators as well. Bitpoint has focused on strengthening security after experiencing a leak incident in 2019.

Contribution to the Ecosystem

──What specific thoughts do you currently have about contributing to the Bitcoin ecosystem?

Mr. Tashiro: We are considering power supply for miners, renewable energy generation, and energy storage. Currently, power supply for miners is difficult in Japan due to high electricity prices. There used to be power suppliers offering plans for miners, but now they are almost nonexistent. As a company, we aim to not just ride the wave of the boom, but to support the Bitcoin industry itself with determination and conviction as a power supply provider.

I also want to consider mining itself. There are still some areas where I am feeling my way around, but I want to delve into what we can do to contribute to this industry and how we can effectively generate revenue.

──After being appointed as the new CEO, it was announced that the executive compensation would be received in Bitcoin. What was the reaction from those around?

Mr. Tashiro: There has been a lot of positive feedback, and I believe that shareholders have evaluated it positively. Of course, I think that ideally, it would be best to hold the company's stock, and in fact, I have received such opinions from shareholders. "Can someone who does not hold company stock manage it responsibly?" However, currently, there are issues under corporate law and insider regulations, making it difficult to acquire shares easily. Therefore, I decided to receive Bitcoin, which is linked to stock prices, as part of my executive compensation. In the future, if the opportunity arises, I would like to acquire shares.

Aiming to be the top in Japan and the top in the world

──What kind of company do you want to make Remixpoint in the future?

Mr. Tashiro: First of all, I want to aim for the number one position in Bitcoin Holdings in the country. However, with Metaplanet currently holding over 16,000 BTC, it will be difficult to catch up.

We need to raise our sights higher. Looking at the world, the strategy holds over 600,000 BTC, and I believe that unless we aim for more than that, our true growth won't happen. This is still a personal opinion, but as a milestone, I want to first aim to be at the top in Japan, and then strive to be at the top globally.

Therefore, speed becomes crucial. If we do not advance our efforts faster than our competitors, we will not only fail to catch up but will be left behind.

This was also the case with Bitpoint. We were outmatched in terms of funding and the number of accounts by leading major exchanges in the industry. The areas where we could win were speed, ingenuity, and productivity. I always want to take the initiative and work on this.

──In order to accelerate the acquisition of Bitcoin, it is likely that issuing stock options will also be utilized as a means of fundraising. There are concerns that new stock issuance may lead to the dilution of existing shareholders' interests.

Mr. Tashiro: Your point is noted. However, I believe the meaning of conventional new share issuance and our case is different. Fundraising through conventional new share issuance involves challenging some business with the raised funds. Alternatively, there may be cases where fundraising occurs because the business has hit a wall. Even if shareholder interests are diluted by new share issuance, it is difficult to determine immediately whether it has yielded results.

On the other hand, we will purchase 100% Bitcoin. It can be said that the collected funds only change form. In the case of other companies, some of the raised funds may be used for operational expenses, and although the percentage may be small, the amount can be quite substantial. Remixpoint can invest in 100% Bitcoin precisely because it has an existing business. Regarding fundraising, we are considering various means in addition to new share subscription rights.

Of course, there are certain criticisms, and I expect more will arise in the future, but we envision a world where the value of Bitcoin rises and shareholder value significantly increases.

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