A year pump48 times, why does the Japanese company Metaplanet still increase the positionBTC in a market downturn?

Article by: Alvis

Introduction: The 'Bitcoin Therapy' for a Dying Company

In March 2025, investors at the Tokyo Stock Exchange witnessed the most insane comeback in modern financial history: a hotel group on the brink of bankruptcy, went all in on Bitcoin, and its stock price surged by 4800% in 12 months. As of the time of writing, its market value has exceeded 141.4 billion yen (approximately 9.5 billion USD). The company, named Metaplanet, continued to purchase 162 Bitcoins on March 11th at an average price of $83,000, using a 'Bitcoin standard' financial strategy to tear open a crack in the dilemma of traditional corporate transformation.

When we zoom in, we will find that this is not just a rare case of self-rescue for companies. Against the backdrop of Japan's economy mired in the "Lost 30 Years" and the yen hitting a 34-year low against the US dollar, the Metaplanet phenomenon reflects a more complex era - how can traditional enterprises use encrypted assets to restructure their balance sheets? How does regulatory arbitrage give birth to new capital tools? Can Bitcoin become a "financial vaccine" for East Asian economies to counter currency depreciation?

Part 1: An Anatomy of Metaplanet's 'Bitcoin Therapy'

1.1 From hotel bellboy to Bitcoin gambler

Metaplanet, formerly known as Red Planet Hotels, was once one of the largest economy hotel chains in the Asia-Pacific region. Before the epidemic, it operated 42 hotels in Thailand, Japan, and the Philippines, with a total of over 8,000 rooms. However, the epidemic black swan event in 2020 caused its revenue to plummet by 83%, leaving only the Royal Oak Hotel in Gotanda, Tokyo to maintain operations by the end of 2023.

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The company currently only has one hotel, the Royal Oak Hotel in Gotanda, Tokyo, with a room rate of about 400-500 RMB per night on OTA.

The turning point came in April 2024. CEO Simon Gerovich, who has a background in Harvard economics, decided to invest all the company's remaining cash flow in Bitcoin after listening to MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor's podcast.

"When the lifeline of traditional business is cut off, what we need is not a hemostatic forceps, but to find new hematopoietic stem cells," the former Goldman Sachs derivatives trader wrote in a shareholder letter.

1.2 Financial Surgery: Constructing a Bitcoin-denominated balance sheet

The company's transformation strategy can be described as a radical experiment in "Bitcoin standard".

Asset Reserve Swap: Clearing the yen cash reserve, accumulating 1761 BTC (approximately $240 million) purchased by 2024

Capital tool innovation: issuing zero-coupon bonds, stock subscription warrants and other financing instruments to construct a "debt issuance-purchase of currency-stock price increase-refinancing" spiral lever

Income statement reconstruction: including unrealized gains on Bitcoin in profit. Of the 6.394 billion yen in pre-tax net profit in 2024, 85% comes from the appreciation of Bitcoin.

The effect of this 'on-chain balance sheet' was immediate: the company's market value soared from 170 yen to a peak of 7210 yen, becoming the annual champion of the Japanese stock market.

Even after the recent pullback, its BTC NVA (Net Value to Assets) still reaches 4 times, far exceeding MicroStrategy's 1.66 times, showing the market's premium recognition of its "Bitcoin bet".

1.3 Ecological Closed Loop: From Financial Tools to Application Scenarios

Unlike MicroStrategy's pure financial strategy, Metaplanet is building a Bitcoin economic closed loop:

Bitcoin Hotel: Transforming the last remaining Tokyo hotel into a BTC payment trial site, hosting miner conferences, and lightning network seminars

Media Matrix: Operating the Japanese version of "Bitcoin Magazine" and cultivating a local investor community 25

Financial Derivatives: Developing BTC options strategies to generate cash flow through volatility arbitrage3

This "hold + use" dual-wheel drive frees it from relying solely on the price fluctuation for profit. As Gerovich said: "What we need to do is not just hoard digital gold, but also build mines to mine gold."

Part Two: The 'Special Soil' of the Japanese Cryptocurrency Revolution

2.1 Regulatory Arbitrage: Institutional Opportunities Created by a 55% Tax Rate

The Japanese government levies a maximum of 55% capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies, which directly gives birth to Metaplanet's business model:

Tax Barrier: Indirectly obtain BTC exposure by holding company stocks and enjoy tax-free policy under NISA (Individual Savings Account)

Liquidity premium: Retail investors avoid the liquidity risk of BTC spot by trading stocks on T+0 basis.

Compliance Channel: Using the regulatory framework of listed companies to circumvent AML checks on personal wallets

This arbitrage system is forming a siphon effect. By 2024, the number of encrypted trading accounts in Japan has exceeded 11 million, with 95% of Metaplanet shareholders being local retail investors, confirming the market penetration of the 'curve holding' strategy.

2.2 Currency Crisis: The 'Reverse Incentive' of Yen Depreciation

According to Wind data, the Japanese yen has depreciated by as much as 30% against the US dollar in the past three years, driving a 300% surge in trading volume for the BTC/JPY trading pair. Metaplanet's Bitcoin reserves are essentially an 'asset-liability defense battle' for companies hedging against currency depreciation.

Asset side: The BTC holding value is negatively correlated with the Japanese yen exchange rate (correlation coefficient -0.82)

Liabilities side: Zero-interest bond financing locks in low interest rates to avoid debt inflation due to the depreciation of the yen.

This bidirectional hedging strategy of "shorting the Japanese yen + longing Bitcoin" enables it to achieve excess returns when the Japanese yen exchange rate falls below 0.0069 in 2024.

2.3 Regulatory Breakthrough: The Rise and Fall of Cryptocurrency Regulation in Japan

Japan has been cautious about digital assets, but is now considering positioning cryptocurrencies as financial products and may lift the ban on cryptocurrency ETFs.

At the same time, on March 10, the Japanese Cabinet approved a proposal to reform laws related to cryptocurrency brokers and stablecoins. According to the announcement from the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan, the government has approved a Cabinet resolution amending the Payment Services Act.

The bill will allow crypto companies to operate as "intermediary businesses". This means that brokers will no longer need to apply for the same type of license as crypto trading platforms and crypto wallet operators. The bill also provides more flexibility for stablecoin issuers in supporting the types of assets backing their tokens.

In the history of the Japanese parliament, there has never been any cryptographic-related legal changes that were rejected after obtaining Cabinet approval. Similarly, the Cabinet has never rejected any legal amendment proposals put forward by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) regarding Japanese cryptographic regulation affairs. The FSA has a certain degree of 'full handling authority' in Japanese cryptographic regulation affairs.

These changes are shaping Japan's emerging cryptocurrency ecosystem with an emphasis on institutional leadership and compliance. FSA official Katsunobu Kato admitted: "We need test beds like Metaplanet to assess the feasibility of the Web3 economy."

Part Three: The Paradigm Collision of Bitcoin Strategies between East and West

3.1 The "East-West Difference" in Capital Structure

When comparing the balance sheets of MicroStrategy and Metaplanet, an interesting mirror relationship is presented:

This difference creates different risk exposures: MicroStrategy relies more on the absolute increase in the price of BTC, while Metaplanet obtains relative income buffering through tax arbitrage.

3.2 The 'dual logic' of market value management

The difference in the BTC NVA (company's market value divided by the value of the held Bitcoin) of the two companies reveals the deep logic of market pricing mechanisms:

MicroStrategy (NVA1.66): Seen as a 'Bitcoin ETF alternative,' with valuation anchored to BTC spot

Metaplanet (NVA4): Overlaying the differentiated valuation logic of "regulatory arbitrage options" and "localized ecological premium", making Metaplanet show stronger resistance to BTC's downward cycle - during the 30% price correction in June 2024, its stock price only fell by 15%.

3.3 The Watershed of Strategic Evolution

When MicroStrategy is committed to becoming the "Bitcoin Bank," Metaplanet is exploring a path with more East Asian characteristics:

Cultural Integration: Transforming hotels into Bitcoin evangelism venues, in line with the materialization of Japan's 'mono no aware culture'

Policy lobbying: CEO Gerovich frequently attends congressional hearings to promote capital gains tax reform

Geographical arbitrage: Planning to absorb USD liquidity by taking advantage of the regulatory differences between Japan and the United States for a second listing on Nasdaq

This localization transformation prevents it from becoming a mere 'Eastern mirror image'.

Part Four: The Pitfalls and Headwinds Behind the Carnival

4.1 Liquidity Trap: When Staked Assets Encounter Black Swans

Metaplanet's zero-coupon bonds are backed by hotel real estate, but the vacancy rate of commercial real estate in Tokyo has risen to 7.2%. If it encounters a double blow of "coin price decline + real estate depreciation", it may trigger a chain reaction of insufficient collateral value.

4.2 Structural Fragility of the Retail Market

The 95% retail shareholding ratio has amplified market volatility:

When BTC falls below $80,000 in March 2025, Metaplanet's daily trading volume surges by 300%, indicating panic selling.

The average holding period of NISA accounts is only 47 days, far lower than the 2.3 years of MicroStrategy investors67

This structure is prone to form a "decline-redemption-sell-off" death spiral.

These variables all cast a shadow over the sustainability of the 'Japanese model'.

Part Five: Transformation Map of Cryptographic Enterprises from a Global Perspective

5.1 East Asian Model: Regulatory Arbitrage and Ecological Closed Loop

Japan: Metaplanet constructs a retail moat through the NISA tax exemption mechanism

South Korea: Remixpoint and other companies are trying to replicate similar strategies, but are constrained by stricter capital controls.

Hong Kong: Zhongshan Capital and other institutions explore the mixed listing mode of "Hong Kong stock + Bitcoin"

5.2 European and American Path: Structured and Financial Instrument Innovation

MicroStrategy: Issuing convertible bonds to attract sovereign wealth funds, with BTC holdings accounting for 2.3% of circulating supply

Tesla: Phase Holding BTC and Trying Payment Scenarios

5.3 South American Experiment: Fiat Currency Replacement and Sovereignization

El Salvador: Bitcoin listed as legal tender, but constrained by IMF debt pressure

Argentina: Allowing local governments to issue Bitcoin bonds to combat hyperinflation

Conclusion: A sample of the new capitalism experiment

Looking back at the spring of 2025, Metaplanet's rapid advancement reveals a harsh reality: when the traditional economy is in decline, cryptocurrency assets may become the "Noah's Ark" for companies to navigate through cycles. However, this transformation is fundamentally a rebellion against the fiat credit system, and its success requires a resonance of institutional inclusiveness and technological breakthroughs.

As Marsbit wrote in the MicroStrategy topic: "As the anchor of the old world sinks to the bottom of the sea, new sailors must learn to dance with the storm."

Metaplanet's experiment is staging a vivid 'survival course on the chain' for traditional global enterprises. However, the final chapter of the course has yet to be written - as the frenzy of the Bitcoin halving cycle comes to an end, can these brave explorers truly cross the cycle, or will they ultimately become another specimen in the cryptocurrency gold rush? The answer may be hidden in the neon lights flickering at the Bitcoin hotel in Tokyo.