Metaplanet Expands Bitcoin Holdings with Another $2M Purchase

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has acquired another 38.464 Bitcoin worth approximately 300 million yen ($2 million).

The purchase brings the Tokyo-listed company’s total bitcoin holdings to 398.832 BTC, valued at around 3.75 billion yen ($26 million), the firm disclosed in a statement.

The company’s decision to expand its Bitcoin reserves comes amidst growing confidence in the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin was trading at $56,732 at the time of writing, a 3.12% increase in the past 24 hours. Earlier in the week, the digital asset had dipped to a low of $52,700.

Metaplanet’s Stock Reacts Positively to BTC Purchases

Metaplanet’s stock responded positively to the news, rising by 4.42% on Tuesday, with shares trading at around 1,086 yen.

The firm’s stock had briefly peaked at 2,000 yen earlier in the day. Meanwhile, the broader Nikkei 225 index remained flat, showing only a 0.02% increase.

The company has been actively increasing its bitcoin holdings since May, when it announced plans to use bitcoin as a strategic treasury reserve.

The move was driven by Japan’s economic challenges, including high government debt, negative interest rates, and a weakening yen.

In addition to its Bitcoin purchase, Metaplanet revealed it will exercise stock acquisition rights, generating 299.7 million yen to fund further bitcoin acquisitions.

The firm also announced a partnership with SBI VC Trade, the crypto subsidiary of SBI Group, to access corporate custody services that optimize tax efficiency and provide potential financing options using bitcoin as collateral.

As reported, Metaplanet has partnered with Hoseki, a global leader in Bitcoin verification solutions, to allow users to verify the company’s Bitcoin holdings.

As of now, MicroStrategy remains the largest corporate bitcoin holder with 226,500 BTC, followed by Marathon Digital with 25,000 BTC.

Digital Asset Products See Largest Outflows Since March

Metaplanet’s latest purchase comes as investors grow cautious of digital asset investment products in the wake of major macroeconomic events.

As reported, digital asset investment products have experienced a significant downturn, with outflows totaling $726 million over the past week.

The figure matches the largest recorded outflow, which occurred in March of this year.

Bitcoin was hit particularly hard by the recent downturn, experiencing outflows totaling $643 million.

Interestingly, short-Bitcoin products saw minor inflows of $3.9 million, indicating that some investors are still hedging against further price drops in the leading cryptocurrency.

Ethereum also faced significant losses, with outflows reaching $98 million.

Much of this came from the Grayscale Ethereum Trust, a major player in the market.

Meanwhile, in a recent note, QCP Capital said that the crypto market has seen some stabilization following last week’s price swings, though implied volatility remains elevated.

QCP: It seems the market is still anticipating some volatility heading into this week's events, specifically the Trump v Harris debate (10 Sep, 9pm ET) and CPI (11 Sep, 830am ET). Risk Reversals until October are still skewed towards Puts in both BTC and ETH. But some…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 9, 2024

“It seems the market is still anticipating some volatility heading into this week’s events, specifically the Trump v Harris debate (10 Sep, 9pm ET) and CPI (11 Sep, 830am ET),” the investment firm wrote.

It added that despite last week’s sharp dip, market sentiment remains cautious, particularly around the potential downside risk.