The Hong Kong-headquartered heat-and-eat meal seller DDC Enterprise has made its first-ever Bitcoin purchase as part of a plan to buy 5,000 Bitcoin over the next three years.

The New York-listed DDC Enterprise, also known as DayDayCook, said on May 23 that it bought 21 Bitcoin in exchange for 254,333 shares in a deal valued at $2.28 million.

The company added it plans on buying another 79 BTC across two purchases in “the coming days” to bring its total Bitcoin stack to 100 BTC.

The buys are part of DDC’s plan announced on May 15 to acquire 5,000 BTC over the next three years, with the goal of buying 500 BTC before the end of 2025.

DDC’s planned 5,000 BTC stack, if it held that much today, would land it just outside the top 10 public companies with the largest Bitcoin holdings, putting it just behind Japanese investment firm Metaplanet, which holds 7,800 BTC, according to data from Bitbo. 

DDC Enterprise (DDC) shares closed the May 23 trading session down by 14.5% but rose 2.43% after the bell to $3.79, according to Google Finance. DDC is down over 27% so far this year.

China crypto adoption rises

China’s appetite for cryptocurrencies has been ticking upward in the past few months, despite the country’s years-long total ban on crypto transactions.

Chinese electric vehicle retailer Jiuzi Holdings said on May 22 that its board approved a plan to purchase 1,000 BTC over the next year by issuing shares of its company and by directly buying Bitcoin.

Earlier this month, a report indicated that high-net-worth investors across Asia are moving away from US dollar-based investments to gold, cryptocurrencies, and Chinese-based assets.

Last week, Hong Kong’s Legislative Council passed the Stablecoin Bill, which establishes a clear regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers, with institutions likely to be able to apply for stablecoin issuance licenses by the year’s end.