MetaPlanet - an Asian response to Microstrategy

[pawel7777]

MetaPlanet, a Japanese Bitcoin treasury company (listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange), who currently holds a round amount of BTC10,000 announced its plans to acquire a further BTC200,000 in the next two years, following the footsteps of Microstrategy, who currently holds almost BTC600,000.

Sources:
https://u.today/metaplanet-stuns-with-radical-new-bitcoin-2027-target-details
https://metaplanet.jp/en

https://x.com/gerovich/status/1934591271135236588


I have mixed feelings about these types of companies, but I guess getting exposure to Bitcoin via their stocks could be a good solution for some, especially in jurisdictions where spot ETFs are not easily available or for institutional investors restricted from investing in high-risk assets like BTC.

Any thoughts? Do you take it as a positive trend or something to be cautious of?

[Oshosondy]

Any thoughts? Do you take it as a positive trend or something to be cautious of?

There is no more thoughts that I have about this than more institutions are buying bitcoin but they are not only buying, but they are also continuously buying bitcoin which can further increase the price of bitcoin. This is very good for the company and we expect more institutions to join.

[john_egbert]

It's a positive trend for sure, and about other feelings - we will see where it all goes in a decade or so, when every company, big and small, will have some BTC with them.

[OgNasty]

Failing companies turning to Bitcoin to give their stock a boost is catching on and so far working well. At some point these companies will go too far and investors will shun them. We aren’t there yet, but I think at this point Bitcoin treasury companies are going to be the pin that pops the bubble. Strategy might as well change their name to Bitconnect once they’re added to the S&P.

[pawel7777]

Failing companies turning to Bitcoin to give their stock a boost is catching on and so far working well. At some point these companies will go too far and investors will shun them. We aren’t there yet, but I think at this point Bitcoin treasury companies are going to be the pin that pops the bubble. Strategy might as well change their name to Bitconnect once they’re added to the S&P.

Most of the Bitcoin community seems to be positive about Microstrategy and the likes of and they are getting a lot of praise, but I feel there will be a point when this could backfire badly. To my understanding, Microstrategy pledges its Bitcoin holdings as collateral for fiat loans, and although currently only a portion might be pledged, if they ever get over-leveraged and BTC starts to drop hard, they could be forced to liquidate, snowballing into an even worse dump and affecting other companies of a similar profile. And who knows what's going to happen in 5, 10 or 20 years.

[Richbased]

Different companies have been talking about imitating MicroStrategy's bitcoin buying standards and it is not new to us but they are only saying without many much actions. Acquiring BTC200k in 2 years can be plausible for Metaplanet but they should understand that they need to start buying immediately because that is the way to reach that target in 2 years time. MicroStrategy got this achievement of close to BTC600k due to consistent buying for over 5 years, any company that want to be like MicroStrategy must also maintain consistent buying strategy.

[famososMuertos]

If this news had happened in Bitcoin's early days, it would have been considered complete madness by both insiders and outsiders. Nowadays, it's thought that the community accepts it as a positive aspect. I don't know how or where that ideas comes from. Anyway, since these movements on these companies* (or *CEOs) are so significant  make the reality is that there is a significant group of users who follow them fervently follow them, as if I had faith in them, as if they (CEOs) were a "god*," a "saint*," and they even light a 'candle' for them.

As for reality, it's a matter of crossing our fingers and hoping Bitcoin reaches a certain price that makes us all happy, and not just a group of investors who see Bitcoin as a short-term investment. The concept of Hodl for these companies is a marketing concept.

^{*Microstrategy and now MetaPlanet, etc.}

[SUPERSAIAN]

The companies’ bitcoin rush and orientation is increasing day by day, this transition is accelerating. Japan’s strict crypto regulations may be an obstacle to the implementation of Metaplanet’s strategy. Some community members argue that MicroStrategy has been successful in the more flexible environment in the US, but Japan’s different dynamics may pose a risk to Metaplanet.

Despite this, Meta Planet’s plans for bitcoin purchases in the coming years are quite high and risky. It is necessary for the right risk and the right path.

[OgNasty]

Failing companies turning to Bitcoin to give their stock a boost is catching on and so far working well. At some point these companies will go too far and investors will shun them. We aren’t there yet, but I think at this point Bitcoin treasury companies are going to be the pin that pops the bubble. Strategy might as well change their name to Bitconnect once they’re added to the S&P.

Most of the Bitcoin community seems to be positive about Microstrategy and the likes of and they are getting a lot of praise, but I feel there will be a point when this could backfire badly. To my understanding, Microstrategy pledges its Bitcoin holdings as collateral for fiat loans, and although currently only a portion might be pledged, if they ever get over-leveraged and BTC starts to drop hard, they could be forced to liquidate, snowballing into an even worse dump and affecting other companies of a similar profile. And who knows what's going to happen in 5, 10 or 20 years.

The way Saylor tells it, he thinks when Bitcoin crashes he is just going to keep all the BTC and give his debt instrument owners worthless stock. The lawsuits that will unfold will enrich a generation of lawyers. Unless the US Government steps up and saves Saylor’s ass through a down cycle, 2027 is going to be a nightmare for him. If this is a supercycle bankrolled by governments and corporations, Bitcoin would go to a million. I hate to doubt, but I think a bear market will have to come first.

[JeffBrad12]

I'd be cautious if only one large company stockpiling BTC, if there are plenty, then it's just decentralization on institutional level.
Metaplanet trying to be MSTR of asia is a good thing, even better if it can trigger adoption in the region.

As long as there's no malicious intention, I think it's going to be fine.

[jaberwock]

The companies’ bitcoin rush and orientation is increasing day by day, this transition is accelerating.

They rush buying huge amounts, making them look like they are late in the party already. This is what happens when you ignore Bitcoin. Still, I won't call it a transition because as we can see, stocks are still present there.

Japan’s strict crypto regulations may be an obstacle to the implementation of Metaplanet’s strategy. Some community members argue that MicroStrategy has been successful in the more flexible environment in the US, but Japan’s different dynamics may pose a risk to Metaplanet.

But, it was implemented already. Isn't it a sign that they have changed now? Or maybe they are only doing this for the sake of competition because I think they are also competitive like China. If it is, then don't worry now because there is no more obstacles that are set on the way. It is only up to the team now if they can truly follow what is written on their road map. 210k BTC only in the span of two years seems not easy to achieve tho, knowing that the adoption continues to get stronger, so as the price.

[pawel7777]

If this news had happened in Bitcoin's early days, it would have been considered complete madness by both insiders and outsiders. Nowadays, it's thought that the community accepts it as a positive aspect. (...)

If Microstrategy had done what they're doing now in Bitcoin's early days, I'm sure the Bitcoin community (except for a small portion of it) would have taken that very positively. That's simply because any news of adoption or endorsement were taken with an open arms back then. On the other hand, SEC would have probably stepped in and threatened Microstrategy with delisting.

I'd be cautious if only one large company stockpiling BTC, if there are plenty, then it's just decentralization on institutional level.
Metaplanet trying to be MSTR of asia is a good thing, even better if it can trigger adoption in the region.

As long as there's no malicious intention, I think it's going to be fine.

I'm not a big fan of them, but I see your point. It's better that we have Microstrategy + MetaPlanet + possibly others, than just one such company. But if they manage their businesses in similar ways and if they all get overleveraged, all could be in trouble at the same time if Bitcoin's price goes sharply south.
And even just a fact that the vast majority of available bitcoins could end up in corporate hands (including ETFs) is not a pleasant thought to me. But I guess there's nothing that can be done about that.

[bbc.reporter]

@pawel7777. Despite all of these very good news, it is very much headshaking to witness bitcoin dump. Similar argument that have mentioned before is if these good types of news occurred on 2021, we can be quite certain that the all time high of bitcoin would pump to more than $100k already and this is on 2021 only.

This is a different type of market where the traders are very much more skeptical than before. They like to take their profit already after a small pump. We can also witness a similar occurrence on altcoins.

[EarnOnVictor]

MetaPlanet, a Japanese Bitcoin treasury company (listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange), who currently holds a round amount of BTC10,000 announced its plans to acquire a further BTC200,000 in the next two years, following the footsteps of Microstrategy, who currently holds almost BTC600,000.

MicroStrategy has not hit 600,000 BTC yet, I thought it would hit it on June 23, but the current holding was barely moved up to 592,345 BTC from 592,100 BTC on that day. I hope it can get to hit the level (600,000 BTC) pretty soon with the diehard mindset of Michael Saylor. And of course, it's a welcome development for MetaPlanet, that's what we've been yearning for, more companies are the ones who would push the adoption narrative that will keep Bitcoin progressing forward.

I have mixed feelings about these types of companies, but I guess getting exposure to Bitcoin via their stocks could be a good solution for some, especially in jurisdictions where spot ETFs are not easily available or for institutional investors restricted from investing in high-risk assets like BTC.

Any thoughts? Do you take it as a positive trend or something to be cautious of?

I don't get it. Do you want to buy their stocks? The company that already has 10,000 BTC holdings knows that it can do it without the issue of jurisdictions.

[Sim_card]

MicroStratgy has been a good example to these new companies who now see bitcoin as a deflationary asset which the price increases overtime. Metaplanet is the Asia MicroStrategy because Saylor has become their mentor and they have started their aggressive bitcoin accumulation to see how possible they can accumulate their bitcoin target in a faster pace. This is a positive trend for bitcoin and it will also trigger other big companies to emulate their footstep soon.

[pawel7777]

(...) And of course, it's a welcome development for MetaPlanet, that's what we've been yearning for, more companies are the ones who would push the adoption narrative that will keep Bitcoin progressing forward.

That's definitely not the kind of adoption that was in minds of early bitcoiners, but it is what it is.

Slowly but surely, MetaPlanet are increasing their stash. Since the original post, they increased their holdings by +1,111 new bitcoins and apparently today they issued 54 million new shares to raise capital for another purchases:
https://crypto.news/metaplanet-to-buy-more-bitcoin-with-515m-share-offering/

According to the article, they have the following targets:
30,000 BTC by the end of 2025
100,000 BTC by the end of 2026, and
210,000 BTC by the end of 2027

[STT]

I still got to wonder what is the utility of these companies buying up BTC, Im not saying it does not work and maybe it is superior to the far more normal occurrence which is companies holding a large amount of dollar.
  Still I look for the benefit achieved or the business advantage gained from holding the BTC, eventually it will matter and the duplication of this theme accelerates the need for actual usage of those Bitcoin bought up.   Im only really bullish on usage not so much the speculative gains and hopes to prices rising, Dollar is probably weak near term and near term its probably fine but I hope they do use their BTC.

[el kaka22]

Some consolation finally . Yeah, this kind acquisition of bitcoin is what I expected from USA government when they first unveiled about strategic bitcoin reserve plans. But, like all the Trump's election campaign promises are failing to take off, bitcoin reserve plan also got diluted instead of buying bitcoins from exchanges. Now, this plans of acquiring 200k bitcoins in next 2 years sounds to me like a saviour of plans. I guess now I do not need to worry about the interest rate policies of Jerome Powell.

Now, I like to speculate what would be the next from here. Already we are seeing Microstrategy and El Salvador governments are in profits with their bitcoins hence at least one institution from remaining continents may announce and start acquiring bitcoins.

[pawel7777]

To simplify, Microstrategy/MetaPlanet's strategy is something like:

- Buy large amounts of BTC (using newly issued stock or debt)
- Hold indefinitely with no intention to sell.
- Reduce BTC supply on the open market, causing the price to go up.
- Higher price -> more equity value for the company -> can raise more capital.
- Repeat.

Even if this works, we will end up with the vast majority of Bitcoins being in the hands of a few corporations.

But the real question is whether such model is sustainable at all. I don't think it is, as they have no tools to guarantee the price will stay above certain levels. Eventually, shares of such companies will act as a proxy for BTC, and dumping those shares would have a negative effect on the price of actual bitcoins.

[JeffBrad12]

I'm not a big fan of them, but I see your point. It's better that we have Microstrategy + MetaPlanet + possibly others, than just one such company. But if they manage their businesses in similar ways and if they all get overleveraged, all could be in trouble at the same time if Bitcoin's price goes sharply south.
And even just a fact that the vast majority of available bitcoins could end up in corporate hands (including ETFs) is not a pleasant thought to me. But I guess there's nothing that can be done about that.

Yeah, in short, players with big capital always win. The overleveraging is definitely a concern, even people are already concerned with MSTR and metaplanet is just doing the same thing basically.
But player at institutional level playing with the most profitable asset of this decade or even century seems like something that's definitely gonna happen, can't do anything to stop it.