Metaplanet Inc Announces Free Stock Acquisition Rights to invest $58.76M in Bitcoin

Metaplanet Inc has announced that it will give free stock acquisition rights to all its common shareholders. This decision was made during a recent board of directors meeting. The company aims to raise around 10 billion Japanese yen (approximately $69.13 million). Of this, 8.5 billion yen ($58.76 million) will be invested in Bitcoin.

All common shareholders will receive the stock acquisition rights as of September 5, with the allotment starting from September 6. Metaplanet’s decision to invest in Bitcoin is based on its long-term value and its ability to protect against currency depreciation.

Recently, the Japanese stock market saw its worst one-day drop since 1987. This happened after the Bank of Japan raised rates on short-term government bonds on July 31. The rate hike from 0% to 0.25% led to a massive sell-off in cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin and Ether prices fell by around 18% and 26%, respectively.

Metaplanet Previous Bitcoin Purchase

On July 8, Metaplanet bought $2.5 million worth of Bitcoin, which amounted to 42.5 BTC, using 400 million yen. After this purchase, Metaplanet held a total of 203.7 BTC, with an average purchase price of roughly 10 million yen ($62,000) per BTC.

Metaplanet first entered the Bitcoin market in April, adopting it as a treasury asset. Their initial investment was $6.5 million.

Praise for MicroStrategy’s Strategy

At the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville on July 25, Metaplanet and Semler Scientific executives expressed their admiration for MicroStrategy’s approach to Bitcoin investment.

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich explained that the company was showing signs of becoming a “zombie company” before they decided to pivot to Bitcoin. Gerovich said the firm eventually realized that Bitcoin is the “apex monetary asset” and would be a valuable addition to their treasury.