By
Chimamanda U. Martha
July 2nd, 2024
Metaplanet’s Bitcoin holdings contain 161.26 Bitcoin units with each coin purchased at an average price of $63,580. This holding is valued at $10.25 million.
After receiving approval from its board of directors, Tokyo-based investment and consulting firm Metaplanet acquired 20.195 Bitcoin (BTC).
The firm announced the new purchase on its X account on Monday with a screenshot of its filing. The Bitcoin purchase reflects the growing interest of institutional investors across the globe in the burgeoning cryptocurrency sector.
Choosing Bitcoin as Primary Treasury Reserve Asset
Metaplanet is keen on acquiring the leading digital currency, reflected in its frequent purchase of the coin this year. In May, the firm purchased Bitcoin worth ¥200 million, equivalent to $1.25 million at the time. The purchase was for 19.87 BTC at an average price of 10,065,548 yen per Bitcoin. This was after an initial purchase of ¥1 Billion worth of BTC, worth approximately $6.25 million.
*Metaplanet purchases additional 20.20 $BTC* pic.twitter.com/4tCRWAc2an
— Metaplanet Inc. (@Metaplanet_JP) July 1, 2024
However, Metaplanet’s interest in an active Bitcoin accumulation strategy heightened recently probably due to a strain in Japan’s economy. The persistent economic challenges of Japan likely caused the consulting firm to make a strategic maneuver. Unfortunately, the challenges had caused the Japanese yen to depreciate in value and also took the country’s debt to new heights.
Consequently, Metaplanet decided to adopt Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset. With this, it joined a growing list of institutions seeking alternatives to traditional fiat currencies in the middle of economic woes.
A week ago, the Japanese firm hinted at its plan to acquire additional Bitcoin worth 1 billion yen ($6.26 million). According to Metaplanet, the funds for the BTC purchase will be raised through an upcoming round of bond issuance with the annual interest rate for the bonds set at 0.5% with the maturation date as June 25, 2025. This is the second series of ordinary bonds with guarantees it unveiled.
The screenshot shared by the firm on X shows that the latest acquisition is only a part of the total 1 billion yen Bitcoin that Metaplanet plans to purchase this season. It was worth 200 million yen which is about $1.24 million. The average cost of each BTC at purchase comes in at $61,527.
So far, Metaplanet’s Bitcoin holdings contain 161.26 Bitcoin units with each coin purchased at an average price of $63,580. This holding is valued at $10.25 million.
MicroStrategy Leads with Its Bitcoin Acquisition Strategy
Noteworthy, Metaplanet’s Bitcoin holding is still a far cry from that of MicroStrategy Inc (NASDAQ: MSTR).
Michael Saylor made a similar decision as Metaplanet for his company way back in August 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world. This business intelligence software firm owns one of the largest Bitcoin portfolios and has not stopped acquiring more coins. Less than two weeks ago, MicroStrategy announced the acquisition of an additional 11,931 BTC for $786 million.
Currently, the firm holds a total of 226,331 Bitcoins, worth nearly $15 billion at a current market price of $63,342.11. Overall, It is worth acknowledging that many institutional investors are delving into the world of crypto through Bitcoin ETFs.