Japanese Hotel Chain Metaplanet Goes All-In on Bitcoin, Issues Massive 54 Million Shares

Hold onto your hats, crypto fans! Metaplanet, the Japanese budget hotel chain that's now diving deep into the world of Bitcoin, just made a jaw-dropping move. They've issued a whopping 54 million new shares to supercharge their BTC stash. This isn't just a dip of the toe; it's a full-blown cannonball into the Bitcoin pool!

It's Wednesday, June 25, and companies are clearly not messing around with their Bitcoin strategies. Metaplanet, now a serious player in the Bitcoin fund game, is showing no signs of slowing down. They're teaming up with the institutional investor EVO FUND to make this happen, and let me tell you, it's a big deal.

We're talking about ¥74.9 billion, folks—that's around $515 million! This massive raise is the largest single-day equity-based Bitcoin treasury event we've seen yet. Metaplanet is pulling out all the stops to become one of the biggest corporate Bitcoin holders out there.

Right now, they're sitting pretty with 11,111 BTC, which is worth about $1.07 billion. That already puts them in the top 10 corporate BTC holders worldwide. But Metaplanet isn't content to stop there. They've got their eyes set on some seriously aggressive targets for the future.

Get this: they plan to grab 30,000 BTC by the end of 2025, 100,000 BTC by the end of 2026, and a mind-blowing 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027. That's right, they're not just playing the game; they're rewriting the rules!

Metaplanet's Bitcoin Buying Spree Sparks Dilution Worries

Metaplanet isn't the first Asian firm to jump on the Bitcoin bandwagon, following in the footsteps of Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy. Both companies are raising funds through stock offerings to buy up Bitcoin, hoping to cash in on the asset's skyrocketing value and the buzz it's generating among investors.

But here's where Metaplanet is doing things a bit differently. Unlike MicroStrategy, they're not using debt to buy Bitcoin. This smart move protects them from going belly-up if the price of Bitcoin takes a nosedive, which is still a real risk for MicroStrategy.

However, Metaplanet's aggressive share issuance is causing some raised eyebrows. With total shares set to hit 760 million, there are worries about stock dilution. This has led some hedge funds to take a bearish stance, building up significant short positions against Metaplanet. It's a high-stakes game, and all eyes are on what happens next!