Hong Kong based alcoholic company Madison Holdings Group agreed to buy a majority stake in Japanese cryptocurrency exchange BitOcean according to local media news. However, why does a company famous for selling top-end French wines in Asia want to go for a cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform? Well, it seems the company is now interested in corporate finance activities, advisory and asset management, but why? Raymond Ting Pang-wan, chairman of Madison, commented that the "wine business is stable and profitable, but then it's small. It's hard to turn wine trading into a very big business." "This is why we have to diversify into financial technology and the cryptocurrency business – to achieve a better return for our shareholders," Pang-wan continued. "Virtual currencies and blockchain are getting more popular. Investing in the virtual currency sector will expand our income source." So, it is all about money? Alternatively, is Madison planning to trade wine with cryptos? Time will tell. As for now, the deal is part of the company's diversification strategy according to the chairman's words. BitOcean is one of the 16 operators that are currently registered with Japan's Financial Services Agency, but it has not started trading yet. Bitcoin is cheap, now is the right moment to enter The deal will be done through company's subsidiary Madison Lab, which will acquire 67.2% of BitOcean from independent third parties for ¥1.68 billion or €13.3 million, plus another €13.1 million in fees. Pang-Wang also commented that it does not matter that the Bitcoin price has plunged in 2018 stating that “Bitcoin is cheap, which has created a good opportunity for us to enter the market. We are eyeing the long term, so we are not worried about short-term volatility.”