SoftBank Boss Glad to Be out of Bitcoin, But His Firm Is Still in the Game

Bitcoin Investing
Ad Disclosure
Ad Disclosure

We believe in full transparency with our readers. Some of our content includes affiliate links, and we may earn a commission through these partnerships. However, this potential compensation never influences our analysis, opinions, or reviews. Our editorial content is created independently of our marketing partnerships, and our ratings are based solely on our established evaluation criteria. Read More
Last updated:
Ad Disclosure
Ad Disclosure

We believe in full transparency with our readers. Some of our content includes affiliate links, and we may earn a commission through these partnerships. However, this potential compensation never influences our analysis, opinions, or reviews. Our editorial content is created independently of our marketing partnerships, and our ratings are based solely on our established evaluation criteria. Read More
Author
Tim Alper
Author Categories
About Author

Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

Last updated:
Why Trust Cryptonews
Cryptonews has covered the cryptocurrency industry topics since 2017, aiming to provide informative insights to our readers. Our journalists and analysts have extensive experience in market analysis and blockchain technologies. We strive to maintain high editorial standards, focusing on factual accuracy and balanced reporting across all areas - from cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects to industry events, products, and technological developments. Our ongoing presence in the industry reflects our commitment to delivering relevant information in the evolving world of digital assets. Read more about Cryptonews
Ad DisclosureWe believe in full transparency with our readers. Some of our content includes affiliate links, and we may earn a commission through these partnerships. Read more

The CEO of SoftBank – one of Japan’s biggest conglomerates, and a firm with multiple crypto interests – said he took a multi-million USD loss by selling his bitcoin (BTC) holdings in 2018 because he “didn’t understand” the token, and found it was distracting him from running his business.

Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son. Source: A video screenshot, Youtube/David Rubenstein

Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son appears to have washed his hands of BTC, telling a New York Times interviewer this week that he had “forgotten” how much he had lost when he sold off his own personal stake in BTC, but estimated that it was around USD 50m. However, in April 2019, the CEO said that he lost USD 130m on a personal BTC investment.

Son added that 1% of his total asset holdings had been in bitcoin up until 2018 and that he had bought the token after hearing recommendations about the token from a friend.

However, the CEO claimed that he would often spend up to “five minutes a day” looking at bitcoin prices, and finally decided that he “did not understand” BTC fluctuations, and found the whole process too distracting while he was trying to run his business. He claimed that he feels much better now when he no longer has bitcoin holdings.

Son did not write off tokens completely, however – although he claimed that he was currently focusing his efforts on another industry 4.0 technology, namely artificial intelligence.

He explained,

“I think digital currency is definitely going to be useful and I think the digital currency will definitely be [used in the future]. But I don’t know what digital currency, what structure and so on. I would rather focus [on] something that I feel passionate about, which is AI right now.”

Regardless, SoftBank owns the Fortress Investment Group, which made a bitcoin investment back in 2013 and earlier this year expressed an interest in buying the bankrupt crypto exchange Mt. Gox. SoftBank also owns Z Holdings, which owns the internet giant Yahoo Japan. And the latter, in turn, is the operator of the Japanese TaoTao crypto exchange.

What is more, Yahoo Japan is set to merge with another crypto-keen Asian business giant in February next year – Naver affiliate Line, a chat app operator that operates a number of crypto exchanges, including the Japanese Bitmax.

Line also has its own blockchain network and has issued a cryptoasset of its own.

At pixel time (13:47 UTC), BTC trades at USD 18,213 and is up by almost 2% in a day and 12% in a week. The price rallied by 47% in a month and 129% in a year.

___
Learn more:
3.4m Bitcoin Available As First-Time Buyers Lead This Rally
Deutsche Bank Strategist Bullish on Bitcoin, But JPMorgan Boss Still Unmoved
Mexican Billionaire and GOT Actress Buy Bitcoin – and Want the World to Know
10 Superstar Traditional Investors Who Have Endorsed Bitcoin

More Articles

Bitcoin News
Maryland Joins States Proposing Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
Hassan Shittu
Hassan Shittu
2025-02-07 21:47:07
Bitcoin News
Bitcoin Network Activity Drops 15%, Hits Lowest Level in a Year
Tanzeel Akhtar
Tanzeel Akhtar
2025-02-07 20:49:35
Crypto News in numbers
editors
Authors List + 66 More
2M+
Active Monthly Users Around the World
250+
Guides and Reviews Articles
8
Years on the Market
70
International Team Authors