Metaplanet Shares Jump 15% After ¥150bn Buyback as Bitcoin Exposure Gains Focus
Metaplanet (TYO: 3350) - a bit of an outlier in the corporate world for its sizeable bitcoin holdings, is Asia's fourth largest corporate...
Quick overview
- Metaplanet's stock surged 15.56% to 468 JPY following the announcement of a share repurchase program.
- The company aims to buy back 150 million shares worth 75 billion JPY while expanding its bitcoin holdings to 100,000 BTC by 2026.
- Despite geopolitical tensions, Bitcoin's price remained stable, reflecting its growing role as a financial tool in unstable regions.
- Trading volume for Metaplanet reached 56 million shares, significantly higher than the average of 31 million, indicating strong investor confidence.
Metaplanet (TYO: 3350) – a bit of an outlier in the corporate world for its sizeable bitcoin holdings, is Asia’s fourth largest corporate bitcoin holder and yesterday saw its stock price jump 15.56% to 468 JPY on Monday, a trade range that took the share price from 433 to 485 JPY. And there was a lot of trading going on, 56 MILLION shares changed hands at its peak – a big jump from the average 31 million.
The surge is thanks to news of a share repurchase program the company fired. The Crypto Market is currently under the spotlight following former US President Donald Trump’s suggestion of military action against Colombia. Trump let rip on Air Force One earlier in the week, basically laying into the Colombian government for not doing enough to stop cocaine from being smuggled into the States.
He had some pretty harsh words to say about the country, describing it as being “very sick” and run by a “sick man” who likes making and selling cocaine to the U.S. Trump was clearly using the phrase to target Colombian President Gustavo Petro – this came on the heels of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela being captured, suggesting the US is considering getting more involved in Colombia and Mexico to deal with drug trafficking.
- Market watchers remained relatively calm, even amid rising tensions.
- Bitcoin barely blinked despite the growing geopolitical storm – no real volatility in the digital asset market.
- Heads of State in the region ( including Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum) were quick to deny any US involvement in anti-cartel operations.
Metaplanet up 14.53% to start the day in Tokyo.
4.9% cost of capital with public pref issuance on the way – paid in decaying yen…
We will see MANY more days like this.
LET’S GO. pic.twitter.com/VVY9Kly0wr
— Adam Livingston (@AdamBLiv) January 5, 2026
Geopolitical Risks are Making an Impact on Cryptocurrencies
When global conflicts and political upheaval kick in, speculative assets like crypto tend to get a bit wobbly, but they’re not as bothered by it all as you might think.
- Bitcoin’s price barely moved after the Venezuelan operation.
- The Crypto Fear & Greed Index shows that investor sentiment is all over the place – no real fear or exuberance is going on.
- Think back to the Russia – Ukraine thing in 2022 – initially, that caused a drop, but actually, in the end, it boosted crypto adoption in the affected regions.
The reality is, crypto is increasingly seen as a go-to financial tool for countries under sanctions or with particularly unstable politics. For example, did you know that Iran did a whopping $1 billion worth of Bitcoin transactions back in 2021 to get around the US sanctions – a big thumbs up for the market’s resilience
Why You Should be keeping an eye on Crypto
Market analysts are saying that investors need to keep a close eye on what’s going on in the world of geopolitics – and its impact on crypto.
- Know what’s going on in Latin America with the drug wars – it’s a big deal.
- The fact that more and more people are turning to crypto as a financial lifeline in countries where the banking system is basically locked down is a big change.
- Having a tool like market sentiment indices can help investors get a read on what might be coming down the track in terms of volatility.
And despite all the rancour over Trump’s threats, the crypto market’s so-called “muted” response is a sign of just how far it’s come as both a speculative asset and a place to store cash in countries where the rule of law is pretty shaky, as announced last year.
The company is looking to buy back 150 million shares worth 75 billion JPY, but so far, the only update is that the purchases are still pending – they have put them on the back burner to focus on a few other things first. Like an extra general meeting (EGM) and keeping a grip on the company’s capital, all of which is part of the plan to keep expanding its bitcoin stash.
Currently, the company has 26,311 of its own shares tucked away in treasury, which is preparing the ground for some tidy profits. CEO Simon Gerovich reckons the whole thing helps keep the company’s net asset value (mNAV) stable and stops it dipping below 1x.
Key Figures:
- Share repurchase target: 150 million shares worth 75 billion yen – pretty ambitious.
- Treasury shares held: 26,311.
- 1-month price gain: roughly 20%.
- 1-year price gain: roughly 35%
Bitcoin Rally Supports Stock
Bitcoin itself has had a rally recently, up 2% in 24 hours to around 92,400 dollars, in a day which saw the price go as low as 90,800 and as high as 93,200. Overall, the market was really active yesterday too – 40% more than usual. And as a bonus, Bitcoin broke above its 50-day moving average for the first time since October.
Market types think the price hike is due to several geopolitical developments – like the US intervention in Venezuela, which could be a big deal if it sees Venezuela’s 60 billion-dollar bitcoin stash added to a US strategic bitcoin reserve.
This, in turn, is intended to make Metaplanet even more attractive to investors, as the company aims to reach 100,000 BTC in holdings by the end of 2026. Following the latest purchase of 4,279 BTC for $ 451 million, the company now holds 35,102 BTC.
- 24-hour Bitcoin volume up 40%.
- Futures open interest exceeds 60 billion.
- CME BTC goes up 1.43%, and Binance goes up 0.50%
Trading Volume and Market Outlook
Metaplanet’s stock price is being driven by rising trading volume and an improving bitcoin price. Market observers think the high trading volume is making the market quite volatile, but it’s also an indicator that investors are confident in the company’s strategy to buy more BTC. With a continued good run for bitcoin the buying of the company’s shares is likely to keep going strong, while the share buybacks are there to provide a bit of a cushion againstyrket downturns.
- Intraday volume: 56 million shares.
- Average volume: 31 million shares.
- Potential upside: likely linked to the price of BTC and how stable the company’s NAV is
Metaplanet, with its clever plan to repurchase shares and expand its bitcoin investments, is putting itself right at the heart of the fast-growing market where people are starting to see a connection between equities and crypto investments.
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