How Japan’s Metaplanet Successfully Ripped a Page Out of MicroStrategy’s BTC Playbook

The MicroStrategy corporate buy, buy, buy bitcoin strategy has turned up in Japan via a bid to turn around a struggling Web3 company that before that was a struggling hotel operator.

The stock of the Tokyo-based and listed Metaplanet soared Tuesday when the company disclosed its plans to purchase one billion yen (about $6.5 million) of bitcoin (BTC). Bitcoin would become the “primary component” of Metaplanet’s treasury, the company said in a filing.

The stock, which jumped nearly 90% in Tuesday’s trading, is now up 125% on the year, but only 12.5% over the last 12 months. Metaplanet, in a previous iteration of the company, had been a hotel owner and operator. And the business has morphed over time to include investor relations and distribution services, as well as consulting.

The Web3 branch of that consulting vertical, Metaplanet said in a securities filing on Monday, “has not yet seen a timeline for profitability as of today.”

Metaplanet’s Big BTC Bet

Enter pure-play BTC.

David Bailey, who was involved in the deal via Nashville hedge fund firm UTXO Management, told Unchained that the idea was to turn around a once-promising “zombie hotel company” by “pivoting the strategy to go all in on bitcoin and just copy the MicroStrategy playbook.” A plan is in place for backers to take an unspecified number of board seats.

Software firm MicroStrategy, under the direction of co-founder and bitcoin maxi Michael Saylor, has since 2020 famously acquired the world’s largest corporate stash of bitcoin, which stood at last count at 214,246 bitcoin worth almost $15 billion at current prices. Its stock has increased roughly 875% since it began its bitcoin acquisition strategy.

BTC, then, for Metaplanet represents a concentrated bet on one specific corner of crypto, with the company saying that adding the asset to its treasury represents a “multifaceted understanding of its potential as a hedge against inflation, a tool for macroeconomic resilience, and a basis for long-term capital appreciation.”

The planned BTC buys would be largely financed by the outside investors snapping up 935 million yen ($6.2 million) in unexercised stock acquisition rights.

Those investors include UTXO Management, Mark Yusko of Morgan Creek Capital, longtime bitcoiner Chengqi (Jack) Liu of Hong Kong, Tokyo venture capitalist Batara Eto, and Barry Hirschfeld, Jr. of Asia Investment Partners (AIP), among others.

Bailey praised Metaplanet’s chief executive and leadership team, saying “the deal came together really quick,” because “they had conviction.”

In a securities filing, company executives referenced the “depreciation of the Japanese yen over the past several years,” as well as the currency’s “position as a key global currency.” Japan’s central bank in March raised rates for the first time since 2007, a period marked by investors searching for sources of yield abroad.

“Despite cycles, the value of Bitcoin has risen steadily over the past 10 years and is widely expected to maintain its value when converted to Japanese yen as a highly liquid, long-term mainstay currency,” the company said.

For current or would-be Metaplanet investors, there’s a “tax arbitrage strategy at play,” according to Bailey. Japan captures approximately 50% capital gains tax on spot BTC profits, but a lesser 30% on capital gains from equity.

Read more: Who Owns the Most Bitcoin Now?

Of course, that’s only as long as its stock can stay in the green.

“Pretty cool play,” Bailey said. “We’ll see if it works.”