Metaplanet Shares Soar by 12 %  as Investment Company Acquires $6.27M Bitcoin

On Monday, the Japan-based investment company Metaplanet revealed plans to invest more in Bitcoin. The company plans to boost its financial position by issuing bonds worth $6.25 million to increase its Bitcoin holding. 

The Metaplanet team announced that its Bitcoin bid aims to push the mainstream adoption of crypto assets in Japan.

Metaplanet Expands its Bitcoin Holding

Earlier last month, Metaplanet implemented Bitcoin in its strategic reverse assets to boost its financial position. The investment company believes that Bitcoin adoption will enable Metaplanet to remain profitable amid the yen-dollar depreciation.

The company currently owns a Bitcoin holding amounting to $9 million. In its June 24 update, the investment company confirmed that Metaplanet’s board of directors has agreed to focus on Bitcoin investment. 

The board anticipates acquiring Bitcoin worth 1 billion yen, equating to $6.2 million. Entrenched in the Metaplanet policy, the board reaffirmed its intention to hold Bitcoin for a long time. 

However, if the board agrees to use Bitcoin in day-to-day operations, BTC will be recorded under current assets on the Metaplanet balance sheet. The board plans to raise the funds for acquiring Bitcoin in the upcoming bond issuance scheduled on June 26. 

The Metaplanet team confirmed that the bond will be issued at a 0.5% annual interest rate, which will mature on June 25, next year.

Metaplanet Shares soar by 12%

Shortly after the announcement, Metaplanet shares gained a bullish momentum increase of 11.5%, to trade at $0.60. Conversely, Bitcoin prices plummeted by 2.6%, reaching $62K in a day.

As per  CoinGecko’s report, if Metaplanet acquired 1 billion yen worth of Bitcoin, the company is expected to receive 99.84 BTC. The new acquisition will add to Metaplanet’s Bitcoin holding. 

According to Bitcointreasuries, Metaplanet Bitcoin holding amounts to 141.07 BTC. The Metaplanet acquired 23.35 BTC, amounting to 250 million yen, on June 11.

Subsequently, the investment company acquired 117  BTC in late May. A review of Metaplanet financial books demonstrates that the company has made three Bitcoin purchases this year.

Metaplanet Imitates Microstrategy Bitcoin Bid

Metaplanet has been profiled as a leading investment company in BTC holdings in Japan. The Metaplanet strategic move replicates Microstrategy’s Bitcoin bid. 

Metaplanet was initially operated as a budget hotel in Japan, dubbed Red Planet. With the changes in the Japanese financial landscape, Metaplanet silently migrated to Web3 development to hedge the devaluation of the yen. 

The investment company complained that the Yen value gradually dropped after the Japanese regulators’ implemented low interest rate method undermining the performance of the international currency. 

The regulators believed that adopting low interest rates could stimulate economic growth, but turned out the opposite To hedge the Japanese from biting inflation the Metaplanet, introduced Bitcoin to reduce public exposure to the yen. 

On X, the co-founder of Sora Ventures, Jason Fang, revealed that the only way to expose the Japanese to crypto assets was through publicly traded companies.  The Sora supported  Metaplanet in introducing Bitcoin in its balance sheet.

Japanese Regulators Revise Crypto Rules

In Japan, regulators have imposed new tax rules that subject high taxes to unrealized profits from crypto activities. In December, the policymakers in Japan called for the abolition of tax on unrealized crypto profits since it hindered the development of Web3 and crypto in the region. 

The policymakers noted that the corporate tax on unrealized crypto gains fleed the investors from the Japanese market. The legislator pointed out that the controversial tax regime forced the local investors to dispose their crypto assets and seize operations in Japan. 

The unfriendly taxation regime forced the National Tax Agency in Japan to revise the rule, exempting local virtual assets service providers from reporting unrealized crypto gains.  

The departure of best-performing crypto firms due to heavy taxes forced the Japanese regulators to revise the tax rules accordingly. The amendment of tax rules encourages the  Japan Industry Association to submit its proposal regarding tax rules.

In this proposal, the association urged the regulators to treat crypto taxes like stock.