This year, two companies that were once called "zombie companies": Japanese travel and accommodation industry Metaplanet and American health technology company Semler Scientific, have seen their stock prices rise sharply and gradually got out of trouble because they adopted MicroStrategy's Bitcoin strategy. Executives from these companies shared their transformation experiences at Bitcoin 2024, a Bitcoin conference in Tennessee.
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ToggleKeep up with “micro-strategy” and adopt a Bitcoin strategy to get rid of zombie companies
Zombie companies are companies that have just enough revenue to stay afloat and repay debt, but no excess capital to fuel growth, and are often close to bankruptcy; these two companies found that their operations seemed to be unsatisfactory, and Bitcoin changed their fate.
US health technology company Semler Scientific: Stock regains focus
Executives at Metaplanet and Semler Scientific said MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin strategy inspired them to follow this path and escape the “zombie” state. Eric Semsler, chairman of Semler Scientific, said: "We heard Michael Saylor talk about zombie companies and realized that we might be one of those companies because we didn't get any attention in the stock market and the stock was underperforming, but we were still flush with cash. .
Semler Scientific's stock price has risen 40% since its first Bitcoin purchase on May 28, and its Bitcoin position lost 1.83% as of press time.
Japanese hotel industry Metaplanet: reducing the risk of yen depreciation
Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich said his company also exhibited characteristics of a zombie company before it fully accepted Bitcoin.
"I was cleaning up the balance sheet, laying off employees, paying down debt, and essentially putting us in what Michael Saylor would call a 'zombie company looking for business,'" Gerovich recalled of his early difficulties at Metaplanet.
But the Japanese investment firm eventually realized that Bitcoin could strengthen its balance sheet while reducing its exposure to the rapidly depreciating yen: “We realized that Bitcoin is a top monetary asset and one that our treasury should own. We then set a goal to buy as much Bitcoin as possible in the future. Metaplanet’s Bitcoin investments have also declined slightly since making its first Bitcoin purchase on April 23, but the company’s stock price has soared since then. 980%.
Embrace Bitcoin’s Volatility
Both Semler Scientific and Metaplanet say they are embracing the extreme volatility brought about by Bitcoin. "It's a completely different shareholder base than we had before, and the volume creates opportunities," Semsler said.
Semler Scientific hopes the increased liquidity will allow its shares to be traded on the options market in the near future, while Gerovich hopes this will soon allow Metaplanet to offer a convertible offering.
Micro-strategy is of great significance to enterprise adoption
Without MicroStrategy and Michael Saylor, this path would not have been as smooth as it was, Gerovich added. "MicroStrategy should be thanked for blazing a path over the past four years. It's very inspiring. If it weren't for the work they've done, I think it would be much harder for global companies to follow that path now."
