Japan’s MicroStrategy Imitator Metaplanet Buys Additional 21.88 Bitcoin

Japanese public company Metaplanet, often referred as ‘Asia’s MicroStrategy,’ has amassed fresh round of Bitcoins (BTC) on Tuesday.

The company has purchased additional 21.88 Bitcoins, worth ¥200 million ($1.4 million) — an average price of ¥9.14 million ($57,600) per coin.

*Metaplanet purchases additional 21.88 $BTC* pic.twitter.com/zCXzKFudog

— Metaplanet Inc. (@Metaplanet_JP) July 16, 2024

The recent acquisition brings to a total of 225.611 Bitcoin reserves, amounting to $14.57 million at press time. The leading cryptocurrency is seen trading at $64,599.2 on early Tuesday.

The additional purchases follow Metaplanet’s recent acquisition of 42.466 Bitcoins on July 8. The purchase was worth ¥400 million ($2.5 million) at the time.

Metaplanet has been steadily purchasing Bitcoins since April, making BTC its strategic treasury reserve asset. The reason for the company to add Bitcoin to its treasury is to diversify from the weak Japanese yen.

Particularly, yen has been hit by low-interest rates in Japan. As a result, Metaplanet sees cryptos as a hedge against inflation, to be more resilient to economic troubles.

“Metaplanet has sharply adjusted its treasury operations in order to navigate through Japan’s challenging economic landscape, while at the same time setting a local precedent for corporate innovation in asset management,” the company noted in May.

Further, Metaplanet emerged as a top gainer in Japanese stocks, skyrocketing 158% in May, after adding Bitcoin to its portfolio.

Metaplanet Mimics MicroStrategy

The ‘Asia MicroStrategy’s’ Bitcoin accumulation has been similar to that of MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin.

Metaplanet issued a statement on May 13, revealing its intentions to employ a range of capital market instruments. The company intended to boost its BTC reserves, mirroring MicroStrategy’s approach.

Metaplanet is currently listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, limiting access for U.S. investors. However, according to Arnab Naskar, a co-founder of the security token platform STOKR, plans to tokenize Metaplanet shares on the Bitcoin layer-2 network Liquid is underway.

Several corporate Bitcoin holders have started to reap rewards, such as MicroStrategy. The Michael Saylor’s firm now commands a total valuation exceeding $14 billion, according to data aggregated by Saylortracker.