Metaplanet presses ahead with bitcoin purchase plans as shares slide

Simon Gerovich, CEO of Metaplanet (3350), doubled down on the company’s bitcoin buying strategy even as shares in Asia’s largest publicly traded holder of the cryptocurrency fell.

In a Friday post on X, Gerovich said Metaplanet would “steadily continue to accumulate bitcoin, expand revenue and prepare for the next phase of growth.” He thanked shareholders who continued to back the company despite bitcoin’s downward trend: The largest cryptocurrency has lost more than 47% of its value since touching a record high in October and fell 14% on Thursday alone.

Metaplanet’s stock has struggled alongside bitcoin, ending the week at 340 yen ($2.16) after falling roughly 82% from a high of 1,930 yen in June. On Friday, the stock fell 5.6% following bitcoin’s slump after Asian trading hours the day before.

The Tokyo-based company’s “555 Million Plan” aims to reach 100,000 BTC by the end of 2026 and 210,000 BTC by 2027. Its bitcoin holdings have climbed from 1,762 BTC at the end of 2024 to 35,102 BTC now, worth about $2.5 billion at current prices.

The investment is deep in the red, with an average acquisition cost of about $107,000 per bitcoin, according to its analytics page, and a current price of $66,270. The company has roughly $280 million in outstanding debt, according to the dashboard.

Globally, Metaplanet ranks as the fourth-largest publicly traded holder of bitcoin. Strategy Inc. (MSTR) ranks first with 713,502 BTC, MARA Holdings (MARA) is second with 53,250 BTC and Twenty One Capital (XX1) is third with 43,514 BTC, according to bitcointreasuries.net.

Metaplanet announced Jan. 29 that it planned to raise up to 21 billion yen to fund additional bitcoin purchases and pay down debt. It plans to raise the funds through the sale of 24.53 million new common shares at 499 yen each, along with stock warrants aimed at select investors.