Japan’s Metaplanet raises $61 million via bonds to buy more bitcoin

Quick Take

  • The Tokyo-listed firm raised 9.5 billion yen ($60.6 million) in two tranches of bond issuance.
  • The newly raised funds are intended to support the company’s bitcoin purchases.

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet Inc. has raised 9.5 billion yen ($60.6 million) through two tranches of bond issuance this week to “accelerate bitcoin purchases.”

The Tokyo-listed firm said today that it resolved to issue 5 billion yen ($31.9 million) as the fifth ordinary bond, in addition to the 4.5 billion yen ($28.7) bond issuance announced on Tuesday. Both bonds do not carry interest and will mature on June 16, 2025.

“These funds will accelerate Bitcoin purchases originally planned for 2025 into the current year,” Simon Gerovich, CEO of Metaplanet, said today in a post on X.

The company has been on a bitcoin buying spree in recent months following its May announcement to adopt bitcoin as a strategic treasury reserve asset. As of Dec. 18, it held approximately 1,142.287 BTC, or about $110.3 million based on current market prices.

Metaplanet’s stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed down 4.24% at 3,610 yen on Friday, according to Yahoo Finance. Its stock price has risen 2,023% year-to-date. The Nikkei 225 index edged down 0.2% today.

The company’s shares also started trading on the U.S. OTCQX market on Thursday. The shares traded down 9.96% at closing on its first U.S. trading day, according to Google Finance.

Meanwhile, MicroStrategy remains the largest public corporate bitcoin holder, owning 439,000 BTC, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.


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© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Timmy Shen is an Asia editor for The Block. Previously, he wrote about crypto and Web3 for Forkast.News from Taiwan after spending more than three years in Beijing covering finance, entertainment business and current affairs at Caixin Global and Chinese tech at TechNode. His China-related reporting has also appeared in The Guardian. When he's not chasing headlines, you'll find him savoring hot pot and shabu shabu in a Taipei local haunt. Timmy holds an MS degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Send tips to [email protected] or get in touch on X/Telegram @timmyhmshen.

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