Metaplanet issues $50 mln zero-interest bond for extra Bitcoin buys: Details

Japan-based Bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet has announced an aggressive 165 billion JPY (yen) plan for its Bitcoin buys. 

The funding plan will involve 33.4 billion JPY of bonds and 131.78 billion JPY through stock sales covering the 2026-2028 period. 

As part of this first phase of the plan, the treasury firm issued an 8 billion JPY (about $50 million) zero-interest bond to Evo Fund. 

Since the debt will be repaid when it matures by April next year, the firm said the total fund for Bitcoin [BTC] purchases will be less than the 165 billion JPY ($1 billion). 

When including all of these stock acquisition rights, the company will have a total financing capacity of 157.204 billion JPY for Bitcoin purchases.

That’s about $982 million in dry powder for extra BTC buys. However, it is subject to BTC and Metaplanet’s stock recovery and overall market conditions. At current prices, that amount would buy about 13K BTC. 

Is it enough to fulfill Metaplanet’s 100K BTC target?

For perspective, Metaplanet’s 2026 target is 100K BTC. Currently, it owns 40,117 BTC, and in the past three quarters, it has acquired 5K BTC on a quarterly average. 

Assuming the buying pace continues for the rest of the year, it could add about 15K extra BTC to its stash. That would bring its holdings to 55K BTC and would still be below the 100K BTC target. 

Meanwhile, based on the current holdings, Metaplanet has a shortfall of 60K BTC to hit the 2026 goal. At current prices, that would translate to $4.6 billion in funding. Compared to its $1 billion capital plan, there is still a +$3 billion funding gap.  

Interestingly, the firm has doubled down on bonds (debts). In contrast, its role model, Strategy, is now using its preferred stock, Stretch (STRC), to drive multi-billion-dollar BTC purchases. 

So why the divergence? One reason could be the cost of capital. Strategy pays 11.5% interest to STRC holders. In contrast, Metaplanet enjoys a zero-interest rate for its bond issuances. 

Besides, it is also a faster way to raise capital instead of waiting for better market conditions for stock sales.  

In other words, Metaplanet has a faster and cheaper option for raising capital than an expensive preferred stock issuance. 

That said, for analyst Peter Duan, Metaplanet’s move meant ‘the flywheel is starting to spin again.’ But whether the firm can scale its bond and stock sales plan to hit the 100K BTC target remains unclear.

Final Summary

• Metaplanet plans to raise $50M as part of its $1 billion capital plan to scale BTC holdings 
• It has resorted to zero-interest bonds as a faster and cheaper way to raise capital for its BTC plan.