MetaPlanet buys 21.88 BTC as a part of its Bitcoin first strategy

Japanese investment giant MetaPlanet has acquired more Bitcoin (BTC). The purchase was executed as Bitcoin continued to move towards the $65,000 level.

On July 16, the firm bought 200 million Yen, approximately $1.2 million, worth of Bitcoin according to an official statement. The investment accounted for 21.88 Bitcoin.

With the current purchase, the firm’s holdings now stand at 225.6 Bitcoin, approximately $14.6 million at the time of writing.

Previously known as Red Planet Japan, the investment firm was initially a budget hotel operator in Japan before transitioning towards becoming a Web 3.0 and metaverse-focused entity.

Adopting the Bitcoiner strategy 

Surprisingly, in April 2024, the company announced plans to add Bitcoin to its treasury through a partnership with investors such as Sora Ventures, UTXO Management, and Morgan Creek Capital’s Mark Yusko.

According to MetaPlanet, the move was a bid to shield against the weakening Japanese economy. At the time, the nation was suffering from one of the highest debt-to-gross domestic product ratios across the globe.

Further, the Yen had also hit 34-year lows against the U.S. dollar, even prompting intervention from the nation’s central bank.

MetaPlanet announced that its “bitcoin first” strategy would help counter economic depreciation. The firm had purchased 1 billion yen, approximately $6.59M at the time, in Bitcoin. An announcement from the firm stated:

Since then, the web3 developer has been utilizing Bitcoin’s price dips over the past months in a strategy similar to that of Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy. The move has also earned Metaplanet the title “Asia’s MicroStrategy.”

MetaPlanet’s stock price has since surged approximately six-fold. Earlier in July, the firm grabbed 42.5 Bitcoin off the market for 400 million Japanese yen, approximately $2.5 million at the time.

At the time of writing, MetaPlanet is the 21st largest corporate Bitcoin holder. Its Bitcoin holdings are up a modest 2.8%, with an average cost of $62,890 per BTC.

Bitcoin accumulation has become a trend among cryptocurrency market participants over the past weeks. In addition to corporate firms and whales, the top U.S. Bitcoin miners are also holding onto their BTC stash as the cryptocurrency has started its recovery.