Japanese investment firm Metaplanet Inc. has raised 10 billion yen ($66 million) after completing its stock acquisition rights program, attracting participation from 13,774 individual shareholders.
The capital injection comes as the Tokyo-listed company continues its aggressive push into Bitcoin investments.
The stock acquisition rights period, which ran from Sept. 6 to Oct. 15, allowed shareholders to buy Metaplanet shares at a discounted rate. The firm has been vocal about its strategy to adopt Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, and the recent fundraising effort reinforces its mission to expand its Bitcoin holdings.
Simon Gerovich, CEO of Metaplanet, stated: “We would like to thank all shareholders for their invaluable support and contribution, which strengthens Metaplanet’s mission of becoming a leading Bitcoin treasury company.” The firm has not yet disclosed how it will allocate the newly raised funds, but its recent activity suggests a continued focus on Bitcoin acquisitions.
Earlier this month, Metaplanet acquired an additional 106.976 BTC, worth around 1 billion yen ($6.6 million), bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 855.478 BTC, valued at roughly $57.4 million at current market prices. The company also rolled up its Bitcoin put options, adjusting the strike price to $66,000 from $62,000, signaling its optimism about the cryptocurrency’s future.
Despite the successful fundraising, Metaplanet’s stock price closed down 6.57% at 1,110 yen on Wednesday. However, the stock has shown strong performance over the past year, rising 6.53% in the past month and an impressive 593.75% year-to-date.
In the corporate Bitcoin world, Metaplanet is still behind industry giants like MicroStrategy, led by Michael Saylor, which holds 252,220 BTC, and Marathon Digital, which owns 26,842 BTC, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.
Since adopting bitcoin as a reserve asset in May to hedge against the volatility of Japan’s native currency, Metaplanet has spent nearly 6 billion yen on the leading cryptocurrency, with an average cost of 9.3 million yen per BTC. This positions Metaplanet as having the second-largest bitcoin reserve among Asia-listed companies, following Meitu (1357), which holds nearly 941 BTC.
However, both companies are way behind MicroStrategy, based in Tysons Corner, Virginia, which has accumulated over 252,000 BTC, making it the largest publicly traded bitcoin holder.
Last month, the firm partnered with SBI VC Trade, the crypto arm of SBI Group, to access compliant corporate custody services.
Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich said that the partnership will support Metaplanet’s Bitcoin accumulation strategy by engaging with key stakeholders in Japan.
Metaplanet added that access to a compliant corporate custody service is a critical component of the partnership, which prioritizes tax efficiency and considers using Bitcoin as collateral for financing.
