Metaplanet Sells and Rebuys Its Bitcoin in a Bid for a Credit Rating

Tokyo-listed Metaplanet cashed out 10,000 BTC in the July-to-September quarter and later rebought 11,000, the bitcoin treasury company disclosed on Oct. 5, calling the round trip a way to show credit rating agencies and bond investors that it can turn its bitcoin into cash.

The net gain of 1,000 BTC left the group holding 44,000 BTC as of Sept. 30. The sale raised ¥124.7 billion (about $793 million at Sept. 30 exchange rates), which Metaplanet said more than covered the principal on all of its interest-bearing debt, including bonds and loans. That debt was not repaid, and Metaplanet held the cash before buying again in a separate transaction.

Get Unchained’s crypto news in your inbox with the free Unchained Daily newsletter.

Metaplanet pointed to a published credit rating of an unnamed overseas peer, which, in Metaplanet’s telling, indicated that “if the issuer has a policy of not selling bitcoin or has shown reluctance to sell it, that bitcoin may not be treated as a sufficiently liquid asset for credit assessment purposes.” The company now plans to seek a credit rating of its own.

The filing said the sale “does not represent a change in the Company’s bitcoin holding policy or its long-term bitcoin strategy.” It also said that strategy “does not mean that it will only ever buy bitcoin and will never sell it under any circumstances.”

Metaplanet sold at an average of ¥12,470,098 a coin and bought back at ¥13,626,928, roughly 9% higher, which it attributed to bitcoin’s rise between the trades. It called the trade figures preliminary and unaudited. Because the coins sold had been acquired above the sale price, the sale produced a U.S. tax capital loss, and Metaplanet estimated it may be able to recognize a deferred tax asset of about $97 million at subsidiaries of its U.S. holding company. That estimate has not been confirmed by its auditor, and the company said the asset may not be recognized at all.

In a separate filing, Metaplanet reported ¥848 million in third-quarter revenue from its bitcoin options business, down from ¥1.75 billion in the second quarter and a peak of ¥4.24 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. Its full-year forecast had assumed progress in fundraising, growth in its bitcoin holdings and a larger options business. “Progress to date has fallen short of the Company’s initial expectations,” it said, though it left the forecast unchanged.

The company also revised its capital allocation policy to keep bitcoin at roughly 85% to 90% of total assets, with a guideline of 10% to 15% for acquisitions, income-producing investments and a planned asset management business. Under a new “Net Interest Income Strategy” announced the same day, it plans to use money from bonds, preferred stock and its bitcoin-backed credit facility to buy income-producing assets, mainly preferred securities from other bitcoin treasury companies, and keep the gap between their yield and its own cost of capital.

Metaplanet climbed to third among corporate bitcoin holders in April, when it reported 40,177 BTC. Its options business, whose trades have included selling covered calls on its holdings, has now recorded revenue for eight straight quarters.

Related Listen: How Digital Credit Assets like STRC and SATA Differ from Bitcoin or DAT Stocks

{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@id":"https:\/\/unchainedcrypto.com\/metaplanet-sells-and-rebuys-its-bitcoin-in-a-bid-for-a-credit-rating\/#arve-youtube-vywlokghcv8","@type":"VideoObject","embedURL":"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/VYWlOKgHCV8?feature=oembed&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&autohide=1&playsinline=1&autoplay=0"}

The post Metaplanet Sells and Rebuys Its Bitcoin in a Bid for a Credit Rating appeared first on Unchained.