Key Points
- Metaplanet is planning an $11.3 million debt sale to purchase more Bitcoin.
- The company currently holds over 1,000 Bitcoin, with plans to acquire more in response to Japan’s economic pressures.
Tokyo-based financial firm Metaplanet, often compared to MicroStrategy, has announced plans to conduct a debt sale to increase its Bitcoin holdings. The company announced the move on Monday, stating that the debt sale will involve one-year bonds with a guarantee totaling 1.75 billion yen, or approximately $11.3 million, at an annual interest rate of 0.36%.
Metaplanet’s Bitcoin Investment Strategy
All proceeds from the debt sale are intended for further Bitcoin acquisition, following in the footsteps of MicroStrategy Inc. Over an eight-month buying period, Metaplanet has already acquired more than 1,000 Bitcoin. The company began buying Bitcoin in April as a hedge against Japan’s debt issues and yen volatility.
The company’s Bitcoin investment strategy is a direct response to Japan’s ongoing economic pressures, including high government debt levels, prolonged negative real interest rates, and a consequently weak yen. In October alone, Metaplanet added over 600 Bitcoin to its holdings. Three weeks ago, the firm announced the purchase of an additional 156 Bitcoin, valued at 1.6 billion Japanese Yen. This brought the firm’s total holdings to 1018.17 Bitcoin at the time. Based on Bitcoin’s current market value, Metaplanet’s Bitcoin holdings are now worth more than $93.3 million.
MicroStrategy and Metaplanet’s Bitcoin Holdings
Despite its significant holdings, Metaplanet’s Bitcoin stash is still far from matching that of MicroStrategy. The latter began its Bitcoin strategy four years ago during the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic and has consistently acquired more Bitcoin since. Currently, MicroStrategy holds about 279,420 Bitcoin, worth approximately $25.6 billion. This places the firm at a very high-profit level.
MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holdings have exceeded the cash holdings of Nike Inc. and International Business Machine (IBM) Corp. The company is on par with ExxonMobil’s treasury but falls short of Intel and General Motors’s treasury, which hold around $29 billion and $32 billion, respectively. MicroStrategy plans to acquire $42 billion worth of Bitcoin in the next three years. Like Metaplanet, MicroStrategy is considering several financial options to secure additional funding. This includes $21 billion from equity and $21 billion from fixed-income securities.
While MicroStrategy remains one of the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin, Metaplanet has become the biggest corporate holder of Bitcoin in Asia.
