Japanese investment and consulting firm Metaplanet announced that it purchased an additional 20.38 in Bitcoin worth about $1.2 million (200 million yen) to complete its 1 billion yen purchase plans revealed in June.
On June 24, the company said it would issue 1 billion yen (about $6.26 million) worth of bonds to raise money to buy Bitcoin (BTC). The consulting firm said its basic policy is to “hold Bitcoin for the long term.”
Metaplanet buys another $1.2 million worth of Bitcoin
After several purchases, the firm finally completed its plan to buy $6.26 million in BTC. On July 22, the company announced that it had bought 20.38 BTC at an average price of 9,813,061 ($62,574) yen per Bitcoin. Overall, the firm spent about $1.2 million on the latest purchase.
Because of the company's 1 billion yen Bitcoin purchase plan, it was able to purchase 104.91 BTC, paying an average price of 9,531,162 (about $60,700) yen per Bitcoin. This puts the company’s total Bitcoin holdings at 245.99 BTC, worth $16.5 million at current market prices.
The company’s recent purchase and Bitcoin’s surge seem to have influenced Metaplanet’s stock prices. Google Finance data shows that hours after the announcement, shares went up by 19.31% to 173 yen ($1.10).
Metaplanet stock soared 810% since its first BTC purchase
On April 8, Metaplanet first announced that it would be embracing Bitcoin as a core treasury asset. The company said it was initially committing $6.5 million to buy BTC. The firm described the move as a milestone in its goal to position itself as a “pioneer in the adoption of digital assets in Japan.”
Since its first investment in Bitcoin, Metaplanet’s share price has increased from about $0.12 to $1.10. This represents an 810% increase since its first announcement on April 8.
The firm has been compared to business intelligence company MicroStrategy for its similar move in adopting Bitcoin for long-term holding. Jason Fang, founder of Sora Ventures, dubbed Metaplanet as "Asia's first MicroStrategy," saying that the company enables the Japanese market to gain exposure to Bitcoin.