Key Points
- Japanese investment firm Metaplanet Inc. plans to acquire Bitcoin worth 1 billion yen ($6.26 million) through bond issuance.
- The firm’s stock price rose over 12% following the announcement of the bond issuance plan.
Metaplanet Inc., a Japanese investment firm, has unveiled its intention to buy Bitcoin (BTC) with a value of 1 billion yen ($6.26 million).
This decision was made following an agreement with the company’s board of directors. The funds for the Bitcoin acquisition will be gathered through a forthcoming bond issuance.
Details of the Bond Issuance
The annual interest rate of the bonds will be 0.5%, with the maturity date set for June 25, 2025. The firm made it clear that the money raised will be used to purchase Bitcoin.
The payment date for the bonds is June 26, 2024. Following the announcement of the bond issuance plan, Metaplanet’s stock price saw an increase of over 12% in the early hours of Monday.
In June, the Tokyo-listed investment company acquired Bitcoin worth 250 million yen, approximately $1.58 million. This purchase brought the firm’s total Bitcoin holdings to over 141.07 BTC at the time.
Bitcoin as a Strategic Treasury Reserve Asset
This aligns with Metaplanet’s resolution announced in May, which stated that it has chosen Bitcoin as its strategic treasury reserve asset. This decision is due to Bitcoin’s resilience as a store of value compared to Fiat.
This action is a response to persistent economic pressures in Japan, such as high government debt levels, extended periods of negative real interest rates, and the consequently weak yen.
MicroStrategy Inc (NASDAQ: MSTR) is one of the organizations that have adopted Bitcoin as a treasury reserve. It’s safe to project that Metaplanet is closely following MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin strategy.
MicroStrategy’s acquisition of the leading digital asset dates as far back as 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world. After recently securing $800 million through convertible notes offerings, MicroStrategy acquired an additional 11,931 BTC for $786 million.
This new purchase brings MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holding to 226,331 Bitcoins. With the market price of Bitcoin at the time of the latest purchase ($66,000), the entire holding is worth nearly $15 billion. At the time of this writing, Bitcoin’s current price is $62,334.78 with a 3.13% drop within the last 24 hours.
This Bitcoin holding is a clear indication that Saylor and MicroStrategy are leading the charge to adopt Bitcoin as a reserve asset. Metaplanet’s announcement underscores the fact that other corporate treasuries are beginning to follow suit.
