Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has recently announced its acquisition of 1 billion yen ($6.5 million) worth of Bitcoin, following the footsteps of the American giant MicroStrategy. Metaplanet, which focuses on Web3 and metaverse-related businesses, made this decision with the support of Sora Ventures, UTXO Management, and prominent individuals such as Mark Yusko and Jack Liu. Jason Fang, the founder of Sora Ventures, referred to Metaplanet as “Asia’s first MicroStrategy” and emphasized that this move would provide Japanese investors with exposure to Bitcoin without regulatory risks. Since the adoption of BTC, Metaplanet has experienced significant market momentum, with its stock price increasing by 89% after the announcement. The company views this move as a major milestone and expects it to establish them as pioneers in the adoption of digital assets in Japan.
The practice of using Bitcoin as a treasury asset gained popularity through MicroStrategy, a Fortune 500 company led by Michael Saylor. Starting in August 2020, when Bitcoin was trading around $10,000, MicroStrategy began purchasing the cryptocurrency. Over the next four years, the company accumulated over 214,246 BTC, with an average purchase price of $33,706.00 per BTC, totaling $6.91 billion. Currently, MicroStrategy’s BTC holdings have a market value of over $15 billion, resulting in more than 100% profit. Even during the bear market in 2022, when the company’s BTC holdings incurred losses, Saylor remained steadfast, refusing to sell and instead buying more. Saylor’s strategic approach to using Bitcoin as a treasury-hedging asset inspired other publicly listed companies, and he claims to have influenced Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s decision to invest $1.5 billion in BTC in January 2021.