Metaplanet Becomes Top 5 Bitcoin Treasury with $633M Buy

Japan’s Metaplanet expanded its Bitcoin treasury with a 5,419 BTC purchase, making it the fifth-largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency globally.

The company said Monday it acquired 5,419 Bitcoin (BTC) at an average price of 17,281,012 Japanese yen (about $117,000) per Bitcoin. With this latest $633 million purchase, the company’s holdings reached 25,555 BTC, making it the fifth-largest corporate Bitcoin treasury, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET.

The purchase price of its latest tranche of Bitcoin, just short of $117,000, put the investment at a loss of almost 3.9% at the time of writing, with a current market price of about $112,500. With the purchase, Metaplanet’s Bitcoin yield — the percentage change in the ratio of total BTC per fully diluted share — reached 10.3% from July 1 to Sept. 22.

Metaplanet’s current Bitcoin holdings are worth almost $3 billion, significantly higher than the $2.1 billion that they were worth a month ago. Still, the firm’s stock has not seen the same growth over that period.

Related: Metaplanet, El Salvador adds Bitcoin as sentiment shifts ‘neutral’

Metaplanet trades down

Shares of Metaplanet rose 3.8% on Monday, but remained under pressure. The stock has fallen more than 30% in the past month, according to Google Finance. Shares traded at $4.09 on Monday.

Metaplanet stock is up nearly 78% this year despite trading well below its all-time high of $15.35 reported on May 21.

Related: Metaplanet clears path for $3.7B Bitcoin accumulation strategy

Metaplanet bets on continued growth

Metaplanet faces mounting pressure as its share price tumbles, threatening the fundraising model it has used to build its Bitcoin treasury. Still, the company appears to be betting on continued aggressive growth and the expansion of its Bitcoin holdings.

Earlier this month, Metaplanet announced the establishment of Metaplanet Income Corp., a wholly owned US subsidiary based in Miami with an initial capital of $15 million. At the same time, the company also unveiled Bitcoin Japan Inc. to strengthen its domestic Bitcoin-related operations.

Also this month, Metaplanet announced that it will issue 385 million new shares to expand its Bitcoin holdings and related businesses. The initiative sees the company issuing the new shares at a discount of almost 10% and raising an estimated $1.44 billion.