Metaplanet Posts $605 Million Loss After Spending Billions on Bitcoin

In brief

• Metaplanet disclosed a full-year loss of $605 million.
• The company has paid $107,000 per Bitcoin on average for its $2.4 billion stash.
• It forecast an uptick in revenue from writing options.

Metaplanet became the latest Bitcoin-buying firm to acknowledge that its business came under pressure as the digital asset’s price plunged from record levels in October. On Monday, the Japanese firm disclosed a full-year loss of ¥95 billion, or $605 million, on ¥8.9 billion, or $58 million in revenue, according to an earnings presentation. The performance was largely driven by a decrease in the value of its 35,100 Bitcoin, which was worth $2.4 billion on Monday. Since it began accumulating Bitcoin 21 months ago, the former hotel manager has spent nearly $3.8 billion on the digital asset at $107,000 per Bitcoin. 

That means the company, which hasn’t announced a Bitcoin purchase yet this year, is currently down 37% on paper, with an unrealized loss of around $1.4 billion. In the three months ending Dec. 31, Metaplanet said its stash took a ¥102 billion, or $664 million, hit in value. The company’s stock edged up to ¥326 on Monday, according to Yahoo Finance. Over the past six months, shares have swooned more than 62%. That has mirrored the decline in Strategy’s shares, which have tumbled 65% over the same period of time. The company earns revenue primarily from premiums on writing options. On a full-year basis, the figure soared to ¥7.9 billion, or $51million, from ¥691 million, or $4.5 million. The company forecast an 81% increase in full-year operating profit stemming from the business. Metaplanet began modeling itself on Michael Saylor’s Strategy months before President Donald Trump’s re-election inspired a wave of competitors. Despite having a head start to many digital asset treasury firms, Metaplanet notched its biggest buys when Bitcoin traded above $100,000.

The company signaled that it had grown its stash by 25% with a $630 million purchase in September when Bitcoin changed hands around $106,000. The following month, the company disclosed a $615 million purchase, when Bitcoin hovered around $108,000. Metaplanet often acquires Bitcoin by issuing common stock, but the company has also followed in Strategy’s footsteps by embracing preferred shares as an additional source of funding. So far, Metaplanet has introduced MERCURY and MARS. Describing MERCURY as the first asset of its kind to be issued in Japan, Metaplanet said that the product is designed to help it weather crypto downturns. “Through this issuance, the Company has established a capital-raising vehicle beyond common equity, building a sustainable growth platform that is less susceptible to market conditions,” the company said, underscoring a shift toward creating “digital credit.” Both of Metaplanet’s preferred shares entail dividend payments. As investors began doubting that Strategy would be able to pay dividends sustainability on its products last year, the company established a so-called cash reserve to effectively pre-pay those costs. On Myriad, a prediction market owned by Decrypt parent company Dastan, traders penciled in a 22% chance that Strategy would sell its Bitcoin this year to shore up more funds. Within the past months, those odds have ranged as high as 35%.