Tokyo-based investment and consulting firm, Metaplanet, has announced its plan to raise funds to purchase Bitcoin by issuing 1 billion yen ($6.26 million) worth of bonds. The company stated that the Bitcoin acquired would be held for the long term. The bonds will offer an annual interest rate of 0.5%, according to a notice released by Metaplanet on Monday, June 24th.
Metaplanet’s stock price experienced an 11.5% increase on Monday, reaching 96 yen ($0.60) per share, continuing its impressive growth of over 500% this year, as reported by Google Finance. After the lunch break, the stock price reached a peak of 104 yen ($0.65).
In contrast, Bitcoin has recently reached a 40-day low, dropping by 2.6% in the past day to $62,733, after almost reaching $72,000 in early June, according to data from CoinGecko.
If Metaplanet were to purchase 1 billion yen worth of Bitcoin today, they would receive approximately 99.84 BTC, as calculated by their average purchasing price of 10.28 million yen, or $65,365, per Bitcoin. This planned purchase would add to their existing cryptocurrency holdings, which currently stand at 141.07 BTC. On June 11th, Metaplanet announced their acquisition of 23.25 BTC, following their initial purchase of 117 BTC in mid-May. The company stated that their decision to prioritize Bitcoin in their treasury was in direct response to ongoing economic pressures in Japan.
The increase in Bitcoin purchases by Metaplanet, along with the significant rise in their stock price, has drawn comparisons to MicroStrategy, a software company based in the United States. MicroStrategy currently holds the record for the public company with the highest Bitcoin holdings, owning 214,400 BTC valued at $13.4 billion, according to data from Bitbo.
In other news, web3 gaming and blockchain games have shown mixed performance in the third quarter. Unioverse and Immutable are among the notable projects, while the Upland token on the Ethereum network has also gained attention.