Japan's Metaplanet Buys Another $6.7M Worth of Bitcoin

Metaplanet bought around 108.8 BTC at an average price of just under 9.2 million yen per coin

Japanese investment adviser Metaplanet (3350) disclosed on Monday that it purchased another 1 billion yen ($6.7 million) in bitcoin (BTC), bringing its total holdings to 639.5 BTC, valued at roughly $40.6 million at current prices.

The Tokyo-listed company said it bought around 108.8 BTC at an average price of just under 9.2 million yen per coin. It has now spent a total of just under 6 billion yen on the flagship cryptocurrency, paying an average price of 9.3 million yen apiece.

Metaplanet began using bitcoin as a reserve asset in May to hedge against the volatility of Japan’s native currency. It now has the second-largest bitcoin stash among Asia-listed companies, after Hong Kong technology firm Meitu (1357), which holds around 941 BTC, according to Bitcoin Treasuries. Both companies are dwarfed by Tysons Corner, Virginia-based MicroStrategy, which has more than 252,000 BTC and is the largest publicly traded owner of the token.

Metaplanet recently started selling bitcoin put options to use the premiums to buy more BTC. The sale of 223 contracts on Oct. 3 earned Metaplanet a premium of 23.972 BTC ($1.44 million). A put option gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price.

Metaplanet’s shares closed up 7.9% at 988 yen and are over 500% higher year-to-date.