Metaplanet Buys $117M Bitcoin

Japanese MicroStrategy, MetaPlanet, has just acquired another 1,111 BTC worth $117.65M, bringing their total holdings to 11,111 BTC or $1.164B worth. This week, MetaPlanet’s purchase surprisingly surpassed that of Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which only bought 245 BTC over the last week. The recent purchase also sees MetaPlanet inching closer to other large institutional holders of Bitcoin, including Tesla at 11,509 BTC, and the Royal Government of Bhutan at 11,950 BTC. At the current rate of acquisition, they are likely to surpass both of these entities with their next wave of purchases.

MetaPlanet has recently announced plans to amass a significant amount of BTC, targeting 210K BTC or 1% of the total token supply, by 2027. This announcement comes alongside their massive $5.4B raise via moving-strike warrants to acquire additional BTC over the coming years.

Pioneered by CEO Michael Saylor, the Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) playbook involves a publicly traded company converting its cash reserves from fiat into $BTC. The  rationale is to use Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset to protect against the long-term devaluation of traditional currencies and to capture the upside from any increase in value.

Purchases from corporate entities like Metaplanet could have a significant impact on the Bitcoin price. Firstly, it provides a powerful source of validation, encouraging other institutions to consider Bitcoin as a legitimate treasury asset. Secondly, it creates a "supply shock" by removing vast quantities of $BTC from liquid circulation. As these corporations move their holdings into long-term custody, the available supply on the open market dwindles.

Another crucial aspect of this strategy is that it turns the company's stock into a proxy for Bitcoin investment. Traditional investors who may be unable or hesitant to self-custody crypto can gain exposure to Bitcoin's price movements simply by purchasing shares of Metaplanet on the stock market. This effectively bridges the gap between traditional finance and the digital asset world, opening up a new avenue for capital to flow into Bitcoin without directly interacting with crypto exchanges.