Key Points
- Japanese investment firm Metaplanet is now Asia’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin (BTC) with over 1,000 BTC.
- Metaplanet has been purchasing BTC throughout the year as a hedge against Japan’s worsening inflation and rising debt burden.
Metaplanet, a Japanese investment firm, has emerged as the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin in Asia.
The company has been steadily purchasing BTC throughout the year, earning itself the nickname ‘Asia’s MicroStrategy’.
Metaplanet’s Bitcoin Acquisition Strategy
Metaplanet’s Bitcoin holdings have been on the rise since it first entered the Bitcoin market in May.
The firm announced its plans to increase its Bitcoin reserves on May 13.
This strategy was largely seen as a measure to hedge against Japan’s worsening inflation, its rising debt burden, and the devaluation of the Japanese yen.
Simon Gerovich, the CEO of Metaplanet, admitted at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July that the company was struggling with its balance sheet and was in debt at the time the decision was made.
Bitcoin proved to be a lifeline for the company, putting it in a better position for long-term success.
The firm has continued to accumulate Bitcoin at regular intervals, sometimes even securing loans to afford more purchases.
In August, shareholder MMXX Ventures assisted Metaplanet by providing a 1 billion Japanese yen loan, which was approximately $6.8 million at the time.
Since then, the company has carried out about 11 series of stock acquisition rights, the latest of which occurred a week ago, raising a total of 10 billion yen for more Bitcoin acquisitions.
Corporate Adoption of Bitcoin
Over the past few years, there has been a trend of corporate entities adopting Bitcoin.
Like Metaplanet, top global firms, including Tesla, hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets.
Tech giant Microsoft is also actively consulting on the matter of adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets.
As of October, Metaplanet has added over 600 Bitcoin to its holdings, bringing the total to 1018.17 BTC.
While it is unclear if there will be any more purchases in the remaining days of the month, it is evident that Metaplanet will continue to acquire more Bitcoin in the future.
This trend is expected to be followed by other top companies globally.
