Metaplanet Eyes Digital Bank Acquisition as It Overtakes Toyota, Sony in Stock Trading Volume

Highlights:

• Metaplanet plans to use Bitcoin as collateral to acquire cash-generating businesses.
• The CEO aims to reach escape velocity by aggressively growing the company’s BTC treasury.
• Metaplanet’s trading volume in June surpassed Sony and Toyota amid rising BTC interest.

Simon Gerovich, the CEO of Metaplanet, revealed that the second phase of the company’s Bitcoin (BTC) strategy will involve leveraging its BTC holdings to acquire profitable, cash-generating businesses as part of a long-term growth plan. He added that it’s still early to start this phase, as the Metaplane is currently focused on Phase 1 of the plan.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Gerovich said Phase 1 is about collecting as much Bitcoin as possible. The aim is to reach “escape velocity,” a stage where the company holds so much Bitcoin that rivals can no longer compete easily. “Four to six years is probably phase one in this Bitcoin accumulation phase, and then beyond that it becomes incrementally more difficult,” he stated.

Japanese microstrategy Metaplanet announced that its Bitcoin strategy has entered the second phase, planning to use BTC as collateral leverage to acquire cash flow businesses. Potential targets include Japanese digital banks, providing digital banking services that are better…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 8, 2025

Metaplanet has been rapidly increasing its Bitcoin purchases throughout this year. The company began building its BTC treasury in April last year. Despite starting just a few months ago, it is already the fifth-largest publicly listed Bitcoin holder. The Japanese firm, often compared to the Japanese (Micro) Strategy, added another 2,205 BTC to its treasury yesterday. This latest purchase brings Metaplanet’s total reserves to 15,555 BTC. The company aims to hold 1% of Bitcoin’s total supply by 2027.

Metaplanet Eyes Digital Bank Acquisition Using Bitcoin

The firm is focused on building a large BTC stockpile for future use. In Phase 2, it plans to use Bitcoin as collateral to raise funds. It believes banks will treat Bitcoin like stocks or government bonds. This would let Metaplanet deposit Bitcoin with banks to get loans or financing.

The central idea is to treat Bitcoin not only as a store of value but also as a powerful financial tool. Gerovich highlighted that one potential acquisition target could be a digital bank operating in Japan. According to him, this bank already offers much better services than traditional financial institutions. Gerovich also emphasized that he has absolutely no plans to sell any of the company’s Bitcoin. Instead, he intends to continue raising capital through Bitcoin to further grow their BTC holdings.

Crypto-backed loans are still uncommon in banks, but things are changing. In April, Standard Chartered and OKX started testing a system where companies can use crypto and tokenized funds as loan collateral.

Metaplanet Tops Toyota and Sony in June Trading Volume

Data from the Tokyo Stock Exchange shows Metaplanet’s trading volume reached 1.87 trillion yen ($11.6 billion) in June 2025, marking an 87% surge from 997.6 billion yen recorded in May. This surge put Metaplanet ahead of major Japanese companies like Toyota and Sony in terms of stock trading volume. In June, Toyota recorded a trading volume of 1.6 trillion yen, while Sony followed with 1.3 trillion yen. However, Advantest remained the market leader, posting 4.8 trillion yen in monthly volume.

Reuters Japan reported that Metaplanet’s stock price has been rising since mid-June, mainly due to its expanding Bitcoin treasury strategy. On June 16, its stock closed at $1.895 — a 25% jump from $1.509 just the day before. Its trading activity rose 87% from the previous month, driven by growing interest in its Bitcoin strategy.