Metaplanet’s Bitcoin ‘premium’ nears $600K per BTC

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet’s Bitcoin premium has reached almost $600,000 per coin, as Asia’s leading Bitcoin treasury firm pushes forward with its plan to purchase 21,000 BTC by 2026.

Metaplanet’s stockholders are paying more than a fivefold premium on Bitcoin (BTC) when investing in the Japanese company, according to a report by 10x Research published on May 27.

“A little-known Japanese stock trades as if Bitcoin were worth $596,154, more than five times its actual price,” the report states.

Investors who don’t understand the importance of a firm’s net asset value (NAV) may be “dramatically overpaying for their Bitcoin exposure” on a position that doesn’t provide additional upside leverage, the report adds.

The NAV represents the per-unit price of a fund, calculated by dividing the fund’s total assets minus its liabilities by the number of outstanding shares.

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Despite the significant premium, Bitcoin treasury firms like Metaplanet and Strategy are important for Bitcoin’s mass adoption, as entities that are front-running “global hyperbitcoinization,” a potential $200 trillion market opportunity, according to Adam Back, co-founder and CEO of Blockstream and the inventor of Hashcash.

Metaplanet is Asia’s largest and the world’s 10th-largest corporate Bitcoin holder, with over 7,800 BTC worth $855 million, representing 0.037% of the total supply, Bitbo data shows.

The report comes nearly two weeks after Metaplanet purchased 1,004 BTC for $104.6 million on May 19, marking its second-largest investment to date.

Despite the fivefold premium, proxy stocks are becoming more attractive to retail investors, as Bitcoin’s high price tag is discouraging direct retail participation, according to 10x Research CEO and head of research, Markus Thielen.

“Retail is only like 7% of the Bitcoin market, and that peaked toward December 2023,” Thielen told Cointelegraph, adding that retail investors “tuned out” from Bitcoin when it first crossed the $45,000 mark, which is the average cost of a new car in the US.

Related: Bitcoin’s new highs may have been driven by Japan bond market crisis

Other Bitcoin treasury firms are also trading at significant markups compared with spot Bitcoin prices.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy is currently trading at an implied Bitcoin price of $174,100, a premium which “isn’t extreme but still significant,” the report notes, adding:

While existing shareholders “cheer this on,” this may dilute the NAV per share over time, which is a cost “borne entirely by the new shareholders,” the report states.

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