Publicly listed Japanese firm Metaplanet has announced it has bought 1 billion yen ($6.5 million) worth of Bitcoin (BTC) as a core treasury asset, following in the footsteps of American giant MicroStrategy.
Metaplanet is an investment firm focused on Web3 and metaverse-related businesses. The decision to adopt Bitcoin as a treasury asset was backed by Sora Ventures, UTXO Management, as well as notable individuals such as Mark Yusko, the founder of Morgan Creek Capital, and Jack Liu, a founding member of Ordswap.
Jason Fang, founder of Sora Ventures, called Metaplanet “Asia’s first MicroStrategy.” He added that the firm’s adoption of BTC would enable Japanese investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without regulatory risk.
The adoption of BTC has already helped Metaplanet gain major market momentum, with the stock price up 89% in post-announcement.
In its official X announcement, Metaplanet called the move a significant milestone, anticipating it would help position the firm “as a pioneer in the adoption of digital assets in Japan.”
Related: Billionaire investor Bill Miller puts 50% of net worth in Bitcoin
Using Bitcoin as a treasury asset was popularized by the Fortune 500 company MicroStrategy, led by Michael Saylor.
The United States-based public firm started buying Bitcoin in August 2020 when it traded in the $10,000 range. Over the next four years, the Nasdaq-listed firm has amassed over 214,246 Bitcoin at an average purchase price of $33,706.00 per Bitcoin with a total cost of $6.91 billion.
The current market value of MicroStrategy’s BTC holding is over $15 billion, giving it over 100% profit.
Even at the peak of the bear market in 2022, when the firm’s BTC holding was running at a loss, Saylor refused to sell. Instead, he doubled down by buying more.
Saylor bought Bitcoin as a treasury hedging asset and motivated other publicly listed companies to adopt the asset. Saylor claimed he had convinced Tesla CEO Elon Musk to purchase $1.5 billion BTC in January 2021.
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