Metaplanet Buys More Bitcoin, Its Strategy Mirrors Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy

Japanese publicly traded investment firm Metaplanet, which aspires to follow in the footsteps of Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy in Asia, has added another tranche of Bitcoin (BTC) to its portfolio.

Metaplanet’s management team announced the new purchase of 38.464 BTC in a Tuesday announcement on X. The aggregate purchase price for the tranche is 300 million yen ($2 million). With this latest acquisition, the firm’s total Bitcoin stash now stands at 400 Bitcoin, valued at around $22.7 million at the current BTC price.

After experiencing a sub-$53,000 slump earlier this week, the price of Bitcoin increased by 2 percent over the last 24 hours to reach $57,033 at press time.

“Thankful for this price action. Have some capital to deploy,” Metaplanet’s Director of Bitcoin Strategy Dylan LeClair said in an X post on Sept. 8, as BTC took a nosedive.

Metaplanet’s Bitcoin StrategyIn May, Metaplanet added Bitcoin as a reserve asset in an effort to reduce its exposure to the risk associated with Japan’s debt burden and the resulting volatility in the yen.

The Tuesday disclosure follows Metaplanet’s announcement on Monday that it will exercise the 11th series of stock acquisition rights, allowing executives to purchase shares of the firm’s stock at a set price.

Proceeds from the exercise, which total 229.7 million yen, will be used to acquire more of the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, the company said. Metaplanet’s top management team believes that Bitcoin will continue to be a valuable asset.

Earlier this month, Metaplanet formed a strategic partnership with SBI VC Trade to enhance its Bitcoin trading and custody services. The collaboration focuses on accessing compliant corporate custody services, optimizing tax efficiency, and leveraging Bitcoin as collateral for financing.

Metaplanet’s Bitcoin accumulation strategy is similar to that of Tysons Corner, Virginia-based software developer MicroStrategy (MSTR), which has been amassing Bitcoin since 2020 and is the largest corporate holder of the token with 226,500 BTC, valued at nearly $13 billion. MicroStrategy owns more than 1% of the total number of BTC that will ever be minted.