Japan’s biggest corporate Bitcoin holder just borrowed $50 million at 0% interest for one reason: to buy more Bitcoin. Metaplanet issued 8 billion yen in zero-coupon bonds on Friday, its 20th bond issuance since adopting a Bitcoin treasury strategy in April 2024. The entire offering was snapped up by EVO Fund, a Cayman Islands investment firm that has backed every single one of Metaplanet’s previous rounds.
The money will go straight into buying Bitcoin. No interest payments. No coupon. Just free debt converted into BTC. CEO Simon Gerovich kept it simple on X: “I’m buying Bitcoin!”
How Much Bitcoin Does Metaplanet Hold?
A lot. Metaplanet bought 5,075 BTC in Q1 2026 alone, bringing its total to 40,177 BTC as of March 31. That makes it the third-largest listed Bitcoin treasury company in the world, behind only Strategy (815,061 BTC) and a handful of other accumulators.
The company has spent roughly $3.92 billion building that stack using a mix of bond sales, equity raises, and options income. At current prices around $77,800, the 40,177 BTC is worth about $3.13 billion. That puts the position underwater on paper, and the company reported a $619 million net loss for fiscal 2025 driven almost entirely by unrealised markdowns on its Bitcoin holdings.
None of that has slowed the buying. If anything, it has accelerated.
Why Zero-Interest Bonds?
This is where Metaplanet’s approach gets interesting. Most people know Strategy’s playbook: issue preferred stock (STRC) that pays an 11.5% annual dividend, use the proceeds to buy Bitcoin, and hope BTC appreciates faster than the dividend obligation.
Metaplanet does not pay 11.5%. It pays 0%. The zero-coupon bond structure means no interest payments over the life of the debt. Metaplanet repays the full principal when the bond matures in April 2027. Until then, the cash is free.
AMBCrypto noted that this gives Metaplanet a faster, cheaper way to raise capital than Strategy’s preferred stock model. Strategy pays billions in annual dividends. Metaplanet pays nothing. The trade-off is scale. Strategy can raise $2.54 billion in a single week. Metaplanet raised $50 million. But dollar for dollar, Metaplanet’s cost of capital is significantly lower.
The risk is the same for both. If Bitcoin drops and stays down, both companies still owe their creditors. Strategy owes dividend payments. Metaplanet owes the full principal in April 2027. Free debt is only free if Bitcoin cooperates.
What Is Metaplanet’s Bigger Plan?
The $50 million bond is just the first step. Metaplanet announced a broader capital plan of 165 billion yen (roughly $1 billion) covering the 2026 to 2028 period. That includes 33.4 billion yen in bonds and 131.78 billion yen through stock sales. After accounting for repayment obligations, the company expects about $982 million in available firepower for BTC purchases.
The target? 100,000 BTC by the end of 2026. That is 60,000 BTC more than it currently holds. At today’s prices, filling that gap would cost roughly $4.6 billion. With only $1 billion in planned capital raises, there is a significant funding shortfall unless Bitcoin’s price drops or Metaplanet finds additional financing.
The 2027 target is even more ambitious: 210,000 BTC. For a company that was a small Japanese hotel operator two years ago, the transformation is remarkable.
Is This the Saylor Playbook Going Global?
Metaplanet is the clearest proof that the corporate Bitcoin treasury model has gone international. Strategy proved the concept in the US. Now Metaplanet is running a localised version in Japan with cheaper debt, smaller scale, and growing ambition.
But it is not without sceptics. Metaplanet has cycled in and out of the most-shorted stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange over the past year. Short sellers question whether the EVO Fund financing loop can be sustained if Bitcoin stays volatile. The stock dropped about 3.5% on the day of the bond announcement and is down 27% over the past six months.
The bull case is straightforward. Bitcoin goes up, Metaplanet’s balance sheet grows, the stock rallies, and the company can issue more bonds and stock at better prices. The bear case is equally clear. Bitcoin stalls or drops, the $619 million loss gets worse, the stock keeps falling, and raising future capital becomes harder and more dilutive.
For now, Metaplanet is betting that Bitcoin at $77,800 is a bargain and that borrowing yen at 0% to buy it is the smartest trade in corporate finance. That bet has a $50 million price tag today, and a $1 billion price tag over the next two years. Whether it pays off depends entirely on where Bitcoin goes from here.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much Bitcoin does Metaplanet hold in 2026?
Metaplanet held 40,177 BTC as of March 31, 2026, making it Japan’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder and the third-largest listed Bitcoin treasury company in the world. The company bought 5,075 BTC in Q1 2026 alone.
Why did Metaplanet issue zero-interest bonds?
Zero-coupon bonds let Metaplanet borrow money without paying any interest, making the cost of capital effectively free until maturity in April 2027. The full $50 million goes directly into buying Bitcoin with no ongoing dividend or coupon obligations.
What is Metaplanet’s Bitcoin target for 2026?
Metaplanet aims to hold 100,000 BTC by the end of 2026, up from 40,177 currently. The company has announced a broader $1 billion capital plan covering 2026 to 2028, though a significant funding gap remains at current Bitcoin prices.
