Metaplanet Becomes Asia’s Largest Bitcoin Holder
Japanese investment firm Metaplanet Inc. has raised $1.4 billion (≈¥205 billion) through an international equity offering to accelerate its pivot into Bitcoin.
The Tokyo-listed company confirmed Tuesday that demand for its shares far exceeded expectations, with underwriters applying for 385 million shares—more than double the initial 180 million planned. The new shares will be issued as fresh equity to support its aggressive Bitcoin strategy.
Metaplanet said roughly ¥183.7 billion of the proceeds will be deployed to purchase Bitcoin between September and October, marking one of the largest single BTC acquisitions ever announced by a public company.
The move builds on the firm’s “Strategic Treasury Transformation and Bitcoin Adoption” plan, first unveiled in May 2024, which aims to reduce reliance on the Japanese yen amid its ongoing depreciation, negative real rates, and rising government debt.
“As we execute this strategy, we believe we can isolate our treasury from the yen’s decline, reduce inflation exposure, and enhance long-term corporate value,” the company stated.
As of September 1, Metaplanet already controls 20,000 BTC, worth about ¥322 billion, making it the largest Bitcoin-holding firm in Asia and second globally, behind only MicroStrategy. But unlike some firms that hold Bitcoin as a defensive hedge, Metaplanet is actively using it as working capital.
Last quarter, the company earned ¥1.9 billion from Bitcoin options trading, and it now plans to allocate another ¥20.4 billion from the new raise toward similar income-generating strategies. The goal is to transform its treasury into a profit centre by the end of the year.
While other corporate treasuries have scaled back crypto exposure, Metaplanet is betting bigger—positioning itself not only as a major Bitcoin holder but as a model for how companies can actively leverage digital assets within their core operations.
