Metaplanet soared 158% over the last week

Metaplanet announced on Monday an initiative to help them accumulate more Bitcoin

Japanese firm Metaplanet has seen its shares soar 158% over the last week.

Following this, trading stock came to a stop for two successive days. Meanwhile, the company is now in the lead among Japanese stocks as the highest gainer.

Metaplanet has gained attention due to its strategy, which has been likened to MicroStrategy’s. Notably, the latter is the biggest Bitcoin corporate holder. Metaplanet, on the other hand, has shifted its goal to accumulating more Bitcoin over time.

Metaplanet share price is at 93 Japanese yen, up from 41 at Monday’s close, gaining 127%. The stock is currently about to touch the $1 billion market cap.

TSE rules state that stocks that are listed with a share price below 100 yen can only increase a maximum of 30 yen daily. Metaplanet managed to surpass this for two days straight.

Metaplanet announced on Monday an initiative to help them accumulate more Bitcoin. The move involved boosting the number of authorized shares by 300%.

The strategy, previously employed several times by MicroStrategy, enables the company to generate funds through new share sales. The capital raised will be used to buy additional Bitcoin, effectively transforming Metaplanet into a de facto Bitcoin ETF for Japanese investors, but without any associated fees.

Since announcing its Bitcoin investment strategy on April 8, the firm has acquired 117.7 bitcoin, currently valued at $7.2 million. Similar to MicroStrategy’s experience in August 2020, Metaplanet’s stock soared after the announcement, currently up 389%.

Metaplanet revealed in a statement on May 13 that it intends to utilize a “full spectrum of capital market tools to enhance its bitcoin reserves,” just like MicroStrategy’s plan.

The firm attributed its Bitcoin investment strategy to concerns about Japan’s escalating debt burden and the rapid depreciation of the yen. Metaplanet added that Japan’s debt-to-GDP ratio of 261% is the highest among developed nations. Additionally, the yen has depreciated by more than 34% against the US dollar since the beginning of 2021. In the meantime, Bitcoin has soared by almost 190% against the Japanese yen in the past year.