Just In: Japan’s Metaplanet Acquires $53.7M in Bitcoin as Market Rebounds

Japanese firm Metaplanet has announced its latest Bitcoin purchase. This acquisition comes just before the broader crypto market starts to bounce back from recent lows. This reflects institutional confidence despite market volatility.

Metaplanet Makes Latest Bitcoin Purchase

Metaplanet disclosed that it had purchased an extra 463 Bitcoin at an average price of about $115,895 per coin, for a total investment of about $53.7 million. The company’s total Bitcoin holdings now stand at 17,595 BTC, or roughly $1.78 billion, thanks to this acquisition. The company’s impressive 459.2% year-to-date Bitcoin yield demonstrates the effectiveness of its treasury strategy.

The latest 463 BTC purchase follows closely on the heels of Metaplanet’s earlier acquisition of 780 BTC, valued at roughly $92.5 million just a week prior. The company’s consistent buying activity continues to position it as one of Asia’s largest public Bitcoin holders, and a notable challenger to Strategy, led by Michael Saylor.

For perspective, Strategy recently expanded its own massive Bitcoin treasury by acquiring an additional 21,021 BTC for $2.46 billion. This purchase brought Strategy’s total holdings to an industry-leading 628,791 BTC, secured at an average cost of roughly $73,227 per Bitcoin.

Notably, Metaplanet is also attempting to raise an incredible $3.7 billion by issuing perpetual preferred shares. The proposal has stoked investor speculation about the possibility of even bigger Bitcoin acquisitions in the near future. It will be discussed at an upcoming Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).

Despite Metaplanet’s aggressive buying spree, the company’s stock price dipped slightly. According to Yahoo Finance data, the stock fell by around 6% to ¥998 as of early Monday morning trading. 

Market Reacts Positively As Bitcoin Rebounds

The crypto market has gained fresh momentum as it recovers from its recent lows. Bitcoin price recovered by almost 1% to hover around $114,594 after momentarily plunging to a weekend low of about $111,800.

The rally followed a risk-off sell-off that was initially sparked by weaker-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls data (73,000 jobs added vs. expectations of 190,000). Nonetheless, institutions and long-term investors saw the decline as a compelling opportunity to buy, bringing new money to the market.

Adding to the optimism, markets now price in an 89..1% chance of a 0.25% Federal Reserve rate cut by September. According to analysts, this could increase Bitcoin’s attractiveness as a possible hedge against a declining value of the US dollar.

Currently, Metaplanet has amassed 17,595 BTC and has no intention of slowing down its Bitcoin-first strategy. If approved, the proposed $3.7 billion funding round could pave the way for one of the most significant single acquisitions in the history of corporate Bitcoin.