Japanese investment company Metaplanet bought an additional 780 Bitcoin, reinforcing its position as the only non-US company among the top 10 corporate Bitcoin holders.
The company disclosed the acquisition in a Monday announcement. Following its latest Bitcoin (BTC) purchase, Metaplanet’s holdings reached a total of 17,132 BTC, with an average purchase price on the newly added Bitcoin of 17,520,454 Japanese yen per coin (around $118,145) for a total cost of about $92 million.
Metaplanet has spent a total of $1.7 billion on Bitcoin at an average cost of $99,640 per coin.
As of the time of writing, Nansen data indicated that Bitcoin traded at $118,171, just above Metaplanet’s latest purchase price. Over the past 24 hours, the cost of Bitcoin has increased by 0.75%.
The news follows recent reports that Metaplanet plans to eventually use its Bitcoin reserves to acquire cash-generating businesses, possibly including a digital bank in Japan.
Related: Metaplanet vs Strategy: Key differences in their approach to Bitcoin holdings
Metaplanet consolidates as top non-US Bitcoin treasury
With this latest acquisition, Metaplanet solidifies its position as the leading Bitcoin treasury not based in the United States. According to BitcoinTreasuries.NET data, the company is the only non-US Bitcoin treasury among the 10 largest.
Being the seventh-largest Bitcoin treasury in the world, Metaplanet stands behind the Trump Media & Technology Group (the company behind Truth Social) with its 18,430 BTC, and above Michael Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital Holdings with its 12,830 BTC. Still, Metaplanet’s current 17,132 BTC is a far cry from the world’s first and top Bitcoin corporate treasury Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) with 607,770 BTC worth over $72 billion.
Related: Metaplanet surpasses Cleanspark with $108M Bitcoin buy
Metaplanet’s success story
Metaplanet’s bold Bitcoin strategy has coincided with significant gains in its stock price. The company’s shares have surged 517% over the past year and 246% year-to-date. As of Monday, the stock was trading at $8.36, up 5% on the day, according to Google Finance.
During a recent interview with Forbes Japan, Simon Gerovich, president and CEO of Metaplanet, said that he did not expect such rapid growth.
“In just a year, we became the country’s top-performing stock, with record trading volume and a ¥1 trillion market cap,“ he said.
Gerovich also highlighted that the company is not simply imitating Strategy, but instead “building a Japan-native model” that is “tailored to local regulation, taxation, and capital markets.” He added that the firm offers Bitcoin exposure that is compliant with the nation’s tax-free savings accounts.
Magazine: Rise of MicroStrategy clones, Asia dominates crypto adoption: Asia Express 2024 review
