Metaplanet has entered the ranks of the top 30 corporate holders of Bitcoin worldwide following its recent acquisition. On June 11, the company announced the purchase of 23.25 Bitcoin for ¥250 million ($1.59 million), averaging ¥10,706,180 ($69,627) per Bitcoin. This transaction increased Metaplanet's total Bitcoin holdings to 141.07 BTC, acquired for ¥1.45 billion ($9.2 million) at an average price of ¥10,278,391 ($65,365) per Bitcoin.

This marks Metaplanet’s third Bitcoin purchase within three months, following previous acquisitions of 97.85 Bitcoin in April and 19.87 BTC in May. As a Japanese public company offering hospitality and technology services, Metaplanet stands as the first publicly traded company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange to invest in Bitcoin. Following this latest purchase, its stock price surged by 10% to ¥89, according to data from Google Finance.

Metaplanet’s move to acquire Bitcoin reflects a broader trend of companies integrating the digital asset into their treasury assets. Recently, Semler Scientific and DeFi Technologies acquired nearly 1,000 BTC, viewing Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and protection against monetary debasement.

Chris Kuiper, Director of Research at Fidelity Digital Assets, noted the logical stance of small and microcap companies being early adopters of Bitcoin, given their greater stake compared to larger firms. He highlighted the similar language used in press releases of noting Bitcoin's characteristics as an inflation hedge or protection from monetary debasement, as well as the perceived value gap.

However, the acquisitions by Metaplanet, Semler Scientific, and DeFi Technologies pale in comparison to that of MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with holdings exceeding 210,000 BTC, equivalent to over 1% of the digital asset’s total circulating supply.