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Eric Trump appeared in Tokyo on Monday to back Japanese bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet (3350.T), as the U.S. president’s family expands its crypto ventures abroad.
Donald Trump’s second son, who was appointed an adviser to Metaplanet in March, attended the company’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, following his appearance last week at the Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong. Metaplanet, which holds more than $2 billion worth of bitcoin, sought approval to sell up to 550 million new shares overseas to raise 130.3 billion yen ($884 million), with most of the funds earmarked for further bitcoin purchases. Attendees leaving the meeting in Shibuya, central Tokyo, said the capital-raising plan had been passed.
Metaplanet declined to comment on Eric Trump’s involvement, both before and after the vote, and his representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
President Donald Trump has pledged to be the “crypto president,” arguing that digital assets can strengthen the banking system and bolster the U.S. dollar’s global dominance. Some of his family’s ventures in sectors such as cryptocurrency have grown significantly under his administration, though they have also drawn criticism.
Eric Trump and his brother Donald Trump Jr. co-founded American Bitcoin, a mining firm that plans to list on the Nasdaq this month. Speaking in Hong Kong, Eric Trump said he believed bitcoin could reach $1 million within a few years. On Monday, it was trading at $108,046.79, down from last month’s record of $124,480.82.
Metaplanet, once a hotel operator, has reaped big rewards since pivoting to crypto. Inspired by Michael Saylor’s bitcoin treasury firm MicroStrategy, founder and chief executive Simon Gerovich sold off most hotel assets already struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic and began investing heavily in bitcoin in April 2024.
Outside Monday’s meeting venue, a festive atmosphere prevailed, with food trucks, people in costumes, and a K-Pop band on the schedule. Media were barred from entering. Later, Gerovich and Eric Trump appeared on stage in matching Metaplanet jerseys, with shareholder videos circulating on social media.
“I think many people, Simon included, and myself too, would say that Michael Saylor really led the way in the U.S.,” Eric Trump told the crowd. “There’s no question Simon’s leading the way across Asia.”
Metaplanet has raised funds through bonds and warrants to keep buying bitcoin and now ranks as the world’s seventh-largest public holder, with 20,000 coins following the latest addition of 1,009. Its shares have climbed about 740% in the past year, far outpacing the 13% rise in the benchmark Topix index, though the stock has more than halved since peaking in June and fell a further 5.5% on Monday.
Earlier this year, Metaplanet appointed Eric Trump to a newly formed advisory board, describing him as a “leading voice and advocate of digital asset adoption worldwide.”
The company, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Standard section, was previously Red Planet Japan, a hotel operator, and before that a CD wholesaler. Its subsidiary, Red Planet Hotels Japan, declared bankruptcy in May 2024.
Russia said on Monday that its troops had advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub that they have been trying to capture for over a year, but Ukraine said its forces were holding on.
At least 37 people have died and five are missing after devastating floods and landslides hit central Vietnam, officials said Monday, as a new typhoon threatens to worsen the disaster.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he does not believe the United States is going to war with Venezuela despite growing tensions, though he suggested President Nicolás Maduro’s time in power may be nearing its end.
A powerful earthquake measuring 6.3 struck near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif early on Monday, leaving at least 20 people dead, hundreds injured, and causing significant damage to the city’s famed Blue Mosque, authorities said, warning that the death toll was expected to rise.
Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan vowed on Monday to move on from deadly protests set off by last week's disputed election as she was sworn into office for her first elected term.
Russia remains in constant contact with Venezuela over tensions in the Caribbean, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
The death toll from Typhoon Kalmaegi that hit the central Philippines on Tuesday has risen to 39 on the island of Cebu, a local government official said.
Voters in New Jersey and Virginia will choose their next governors on Tuesday in two crucial races that will serve as an early indicator of how the American electorate is responding to President Donald Trump's unprecedented nine months in office.
Former U.S. President George W Bush has reacted to the death of Dick Cheney in an emotional tribute, calling his passing "a loss to the nation and sorrow to friends".
A Romanian worker trapped for hours under the rubble of a partially collapsed medieval tower near the Colosseum in central Rome has died, Italian and Romanian authorities said on Tuesday.
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