Metaplanet Inc. Acquires Additional Bitcoin

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet Inc. has announced the purchase of an additional 57.273 bitcoin, valued at approximately 500 million yen ($3.4 million). This acquisition is part of the company’s strategy to accumulate more of the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

In a statement, the Tokyo-listed firm revealed that this latest investment aligns with their August 8 plan, following a 1 billion yen ($6.8 million) loan secured for bitcoin purchases.

“With this purchase, we have completed the purchase of 1 billion yen worth of bitcoin,” said the company, bringing its total holdings to 360.368 bitcoin.

Earlier in May, Metaplanet indicated it adopted bitcoin as a part of its strategic treasury reserve to counteract ongoing economic pressures in Japan, such as high government debt, negative real interest rates, and a weak yen.

As a result of this announcement, Metaplanet’s stock surged 10.7% on Tuesday morning, trading at 1,192 yen after hitting a peak of around 1,293 yen, according to Google Finance. The Nikkei 225 index has also seen a rise of 1.7% in the morning session.

In contrast, MicroStrategy, led by Michael Saylor, remains the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, owning 226,500 BTC, trailed by Marathon Digital with 25,000 BTC.