Metaplanet CEO Says Bitcoin's Next Cycle Could Belong To Asia: 'The Bottom Is In'

Bitcoin has already bottomed and could see a stronger finish to 2026 as Asia emerges as the crypto king’s next major adoption engine, according to Metaplanet ) CEO Simon Gerovich.Asia’s Untapped Capital OpportunitySpeaking at Bitcoin Asia 2026 on Aug. 29, Gerovich said Bitcoin’s roughly 50% drawdown forced weaker sellers out of the market, while the buyers now entering are likely to have longer investment horizons.“I believe the bottom is in and I’m expecting a much brighter rest of the year,” Gerovich said.Metaplanet continued accumulating throughout the downturn and now owns 43,000 BTC, which Gerovich said makes it the world’s third largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holder and Asia’s largest.But Gerovich sees the bigger opportunity coming from Asia’s largely untapped capital.Japanese households alone hold roughly $14 trillion in financial assets, about half of which sits in bank deposits, according to Gerovich.Yet traditional investors across much of Asia have limited ways to gain Bitcoin exposure through existing brokerage and institutional structures.Only 20 publicly traded Asian companies currently hold Bitcoin, he said.“The opportunity isn’t simply that Bitcoin goes up,” Gerovich said. “The opportunity is that most of Asia’s capital cannot” buy it.Can Regulation and New Products Help?Gerovich expects regulatory changes and new Bitcoin products to start closing that gap, creating demand for custody, lending, yield products and local-currency trading infrastructure."The previous cycles belonged to the West," Gerovich said. "And the first Asian cycle has already started."Among most recent products, Coinbase ) and Better Mortgage (NASDAQ:BETR) launched a token-backed mortgage allowing crypto holders to buy a home without selling their holdings.On the regulation front, lawmakers have noted that the CLARITY Act is scheduled for a Senate vote on Sep. 15.While the long-running push for comprehensive U.S. crypto market structure legislation is heading towards a critical deadline, Republican advocates remain upbeat about its prospects.Image: Shutterstock