Japan's Metaplanet stock jumps 10% after disclosing additional BTC purchase

Tokyo-listed investment firm Metaplanet Inc. saw its shares rise 9.88% on Tuesday after announcing that it had purchased an additional 250 million yen ($1.58 million) worth of bitcoin.

According to a statement disclosed on June 11, Metaplanet bought 23.351 BTC, bringing its total bitcoin holdings to over 141.07 BTC ($9.54 million). The firm's latest bitcoin purchase follows previous acquisitions on April 23 and May 10.

Its average purchase price per bitcoin was 10.27 million yen, or about $65,300, according to the statement. Bitcoin is currently trading at $67,566, down from last week’s peak of nearly $72,000, according to The Block’s bitcoin price page .

Metaplanet Inc.'s stock soared to 89 yen per share at closing on Tuesday, marking a significant short-term jump since its initial announcement of a bitcoin investment focus on April 9. At the time, the stock traded at around 19 yen. 

“In response to the pandemic-induced investment landscape, Metaplanet comprehensively restructured its myriad assets and businesses, paving the way for a strategic pivot towards a Bitcoin-centric vision,” the company’s website said. 

Last month, Metaplanet announced that it had decided to adopt bitcoin as its strategic treasury reserve asset in response to the ongoing economic adversity in Japan, namely high government debt levels, prolonged periods of negative real interest rates, and the consequently weak yen.

According to BitcoinTreasuries.net , public companies around the world own a total of 308,688 bitcoins, led by Microstrategy Inc. The Michael Saylor-led firm owns 214,400 BTC, which represents over 50% of its market capitalization.