Japanese public company Metaplanet has announced the issuance of a new series of one-year ordinary bonds worth 1.75 billion yen (approximately $12 million) to purchase additional Bitcoin (BTC).
The investment firm has adopted the playbook of U.S.-listed business intelligence firm MicroStrategy by borrowing money at a low interest rate to boost its holdings of the largest cryptocurrency.
Metaplanet Is Raising Debt To Buy More BTC
Tokyo-listed Metaplanet revealed on Nov.18 that its board of directors had decided to issue bonds at an interest rate of 0.36%, with the funds raised intended to scoop up Bitcoin.
Each bond the company offers is priced at ¥43.75 million, or around $283,031. The redemption date is scheduled for Nov. 17, 2025.
“More Bitcoin purchases incoming,” Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich declared in an X post.
Metaplanet took a page out of MicroStrategy’s playbook of putting Bitcoin on its balance sheet back in April when it purchased 1 billion yen worth of BTC following its May announcement to adopt the alpha crypto as a strategic treasury reserve asset.
Asia’s Second Largest Bitcoin Holder
Its latest disclosure revealed that the firm currently holds 1,018.17 BTC, worth around $93.49 million at current market prices — making it Asia’s second-largest corporate Bitcoin holder.
Metaplanet has been dubbed Asia’s answer to MicroStrategy, the largest public holder of Bitcoin, even though the former’s BTC stash is currently a far cry from that of its inspiration. MicroStrategy currently holds a staggering 279,420 Bitcoin, worth around $25.6 billion, as BTC has scaled to an all-time high above $93,400.
MicroStrategy, based in Tyson, Virginia, started purchasing Bitcoin in late 2020 to fetch the best results for shareholders instead of holding excess fiat cash. As a result, its share price has skyrocketed, and now the company, which sells data-analyzing software, has rebranded itself as a “Bitcoin development company.”