‘Japan's MicroStrategy’ Metaplanet to Raise $62 Million for Bitcoin Investment

Metaplanet—a Japanese investment firm focused on accumulating Bitcoin—announced plans to raise ¥9.5 billion (around $62 million), to grow its holdings of the cryptocurrency.

The company announced its 12th stock issuance in a Nov. 28 notice . Metaplanet will issue the 29,000 stock acquisition rights for 100 shares each to Cayman Islands investment management firm EVO Fund.

“The majority of the funds raised this time will be strategically allocated for the purchase of additional Bitcoin,” the notice reads. “We have made it clear that we intend to utilize debt and periodic stock issuance to systematically increase our Bitcoin holdings while reducing exposure to a depreciating yen.”

Metaplanet further highlighted that Bitcoin’s “prominence continues to grow” after it nearly hit $100,000 earlier this month. On the other hand, “the Japanese yen continues to depreciate, with the USD/JPY exchange rate returning to the 154 level on the same day, presenting ongoing concerns.”

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“Given these circumstances, we recognize the urgent importance of increasing our Bitcoin holdings and have therefore decided to proceed with this fundraising initiative,” the company concluded.

The stock acquisition still needs approval by local regulators under Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. If approved, the operation will take place from Dec. 16, 2024 until June 16, 2025. At the current price of about $98,000 per Bitcoin, the company would acquire over 638 BTC with the proceedings of the deal.

Metaplanet also said that it had decided to put aside its “metaverse related businesses plans” since “there is still no prospect of profitability, and has decided to incorporate the purchase and holding of Bitcoin as part of our stated corporate treasury strategy.”

The comments follow public disappointment with the results of the metaverse under development by Meta (formally Facebook) following a $177 billion investment by the company by the summer of 2022. As Decrypt reported at the time, the platforms' graphics being heralded as at the forefront of the metaverse look about the same—if not worse—than the 20-year-old virtual world Second Life.

The MicroStrategy Bitcoin playbook

In its acquisition of Bitcoin for its corporate treasury, Metaplanet is following in the footsteps of U.S. business intelligence firm MicroStrategy, which under the direction of its chairman Michael Saylor has pursued an aggressive strategy of Bitcoin purchases.

MicroStrategy now holds well over 1% of Bitcoin’s 21 million supply, while Saylor has touted his “Bitcoin playbook” to a number of firms, including Tesla and more recently Microsoft.

Still, after seeing renewed interest at the start of the current crypto bull run, MicroStrategy’s stock took a 16% dive just as Bitcoin was approaching $100,000. At the time, one analyst explained why their firm took a short position on MicroStrategy while being long on Bitcoin.