Following in the footsteps of Michael Saylor, another publicly traded company has decided to make Bitcoin its savings vehicle of choice.
Metaplanet, an investment and advisory company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, announced on Monday that it had purchased JPY 1 billion ($6.5 million) worth of Bitcoin for its company's treasury.
Metaplanet’s Bitcoin Strategy
By a company TweeterMetaplanet has chosen to “adopt Bitcoin as the company’s primary treasury asset.”
“This strategic pivot is not only about embracing digital assets, but also about paving the way for a future where finance meets innovation at its heart,” the company wrote.
According to his websiteMetaplanet focuses on “building bridges” between Japan and the rest of the world in “Web2” and “Web3” environments.
“Web3” is a catch-all term for the blockchain-based era of the Internet, paving the way for tokenization and decentralized finance in everyday life. Some of the company's consulting services are specifically focused on Web3 strategy and blockchain integration.
Other businesses include investment, real estate and a “distribution business” to market high-quality Japanese products worldwide. Some of the company's new backers supporting its Bitcoin strategy include Sora Ventures, UTXO Management and Mark Yusko – the co-founder of Morgan Creek Capital who sees Bitcoin reaching $150,000 this year.
“Our transition to Bitcoin is an important step in our mission to lead in the digital finance era and positions Metaplanet as a pioneer in the adoption of digital assets in Japan,” Metaplanet wrote.
Metaplanet versus microstrategy
Metaplanet boasts a market capitalization of JPY 2.18 billion – an order of magnitude lower than that of MicroStrategy, the first global company to adopt Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset.
The latter company – an enterprise software company turned Bitcoin development company – now holds more than 1% of the entire BTC supply, or 214,245 BTC ($15.39 billion).
As a public company, MicroStrategy was able to use cheap convertible note offerings, debt issuance, and stock dilution to generate more Bitcoin (BTC) for shareholders. For investors, that made it a sort of leveraged Bitcoin ETF, available well before regular Bitcoin ETFs hit the U.S. public markets this year.
MicroStrategy (MSTR) has appreciated 120% year to date, roughly double Bitcoin's gains. Many analysts believe this is an “unjustifiable premium” over its true BTC holdings, which is bound to correct over time.
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