Japanese listed company Metaplanet is on the move again! This time they splurged $53.7 million, acquiring 463 bitcoins at an average price of about $116,000 each. To be honest, this purchase price is quite interesting—it is significantly higher than the current market price, indicating they are determined to continue accumulating.

With this latest operation, Metaplanet's bitcoin inventory has reached an astonishing 17,595 coins. I dug into their holding data and found the total cost is around $1.78 billion, averaging about $101,000 per bitcoin. This figure is considerably lower than the current market price, suggesting they made quite a good entry with their early positions.

In the past two years, this company has completely shifted its investment strategy towards bitcoin. Their CFO bluntly stated at a press conference: "We aim to 'bitcoinize' our balance sheet." This aggressive approach is definitely an outlier among Japanese listed companies. However, the results are visible—since they began heavily buying bitcoin last year, the company's stock price has multiplied several times.

But the risks are not small. The value of the bitcoins they hold now exceeds the company's market capitalization, which is akin to putting all their eggs in one basket. Some analysts have warned that if bitcoin prices correct in the latter half of the year, the company's financial report could look grim. However, Metaplanet seems confident; they just issued 20 billion yen in convertible bonds, apparently preparing to continue increasing their stake.

Interestingly, Japanese retail investors now refer to Metaplanet as a "bitcoin ETF alternative," because those who can't afford bitcoin are buying their stocks instead. This operation has truly taken listed companies to new heights...