Metaplanet Raises $66M to Purchase More Bitcoin

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has continued to demonstrate its strong belief in Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value.

In a filing on Oct. 23, Metaplanet announced it raised 10 billion yen (approx. $66 million) by issuing stock acquisition rights. This marks the firm’s 11th series of stock acquisition rights.

Stock Acquisition Rights Exercise 

Stock acquisition rights is a financial term referring to the process where investors exercise their option to purchase shares of a company at a predetermined price. It’s like a contract that gives the investor the right but not the obligation to acquire company shares at a specific price within a certain timeframe.

According to the filing, the stock acquisition rights ran from Sept. 6 to Oct. 15 and saw participation from 13,774 individual shareholders.

Although Metaplanet did not explicitly state that the proceeds would be used to fund more Bitcoin purchases, it is believed the company will use it to strengthen its Bitcoin portfolio.

“We would like to thank all shareholders for their invaluable support and contribution, which strengthens Metaplanet’s mission of becoming a leading bitcoin treasury company,” Simon Gerovich, CEO of Metaplanet,” said in a post on X.

Asia’s MicroStrategy 

Metaplanet appears to follow in the footsteps of MicroStrategy, a US-based software company currently holding 252,220 Bitcoin worth over $16.8 billion. Since adopting Bitcoin in August 2020, MicroStrategy stock (MSTR) has skyrocketed by more than 1,500%. MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin investment has paid off, as the software company only used $9.95 billion to purchase Bitcoin at an average price of $39,464.

Similarly, it raised $1.01 billion through convertible notes issuance last month to purchase 7,420 BTC ($458.4 million).

In April, Metaplanet stated that it adopted Bitcoin as a reserve asset to help hedge against the volatility of the Japanese yen. Since then, the company has accumulated 855.478 BTC ($57.4 million). Its last purchase occurred earlier this month. At the time, it added 106.976 BTC worth about 1 billion yen ($6.6 million) to its portfolio.

Metaplanet’s stock (3350) has skyrocketed by 642% since the beginning of the year.