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Strategy nears 600,000 bitcoin as the “Strategy of Asia” also buys

Benchmark initiated coverage on Metaplanet as the former hotel business is becoming “Japan’s pioneering listed bitcoin treasury company.”

It’s Monday, so it’s bitcoin-buying day for Strategy, which has acquired 4,980 bitcoin for $531.9 million. The largest corporate bitcoin holder now has 597,325 bitcoin. 

Metaplanet, the “Strategy of Asia,” which became the seventh-largest corporate bitcoin holder, also added to its reserve, acquiring 1,005 bitcoin for $108.1 million, giving it a total of 13,350.

The company also announced the issuance of 0% interest rate ordinary bonds worth 30 billion yen ($208 million) to boost its bitcoin acquisition strategy.

Benchmark Equity Research initiated coverage of the Japanese company this morning with a “buy” rating, as it “emerges as Japan’s answer to MSTR with bitcoin acquisition strategy. In just over a year, the company has transformed itself from a modest hotel business into Japans pioneering listed bitcoin treasury company,” Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer wrote in the note.

Palmer added that Mataplanet “has been the best performing stock in Japan by 10x, generating a total return of 7,742% during that span.”

“We believe the shares are poised to continue their upward climb as Metaplanet continues to execute its financing strategy and adds to its bitcoin holdings,” he wrote.

The company, which said it seeks to accumulate 100,000 bitcoin by the end of 2026 and 210,000 bitcoin by the end of 2027, is emulating Strategy, but with “a twist.”

“Metaplanet has been generating the bulk of its revenue through option premium harvesting: selling cash-secured bitcoin put options and collecting premiums while committing to buy bitcoin at a predetermined strike if the market declines,” Palmer added.

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Payward, parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, puts plans for IPO on hold

Payward, crypto exchange Kraken’s parent company, has paused its plans for an initial public offering until market conditions improve, according to a report from CoinDesk that cited two people with knowledge of the matter. 

Since the firm announced in November its preparation for an IPO of its common stock, the total market capitalization of the crypto industry has shed around $652.2 billion, from $3.2 trillion to $2.5 trillion as of Wednesday, data from CoinGecko shows. 

The news comes two weeks after Kraken received approval for a master account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, allowing the crypto exchange to connect to the Fed’s payment infrastructure used by traditional banks and credit unions. 

Last year, Kraken raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation from institutional investors such as Jane Street and Citadel Securities.

The news comes two weeks after Kraken received approval for a master account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, allowing the crypto exchange to connect to the Fed’s payment infrastructure used by traditional banks and credit unions. 

Last year, Kraken raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation from institutional investors such as Jane Street and Citadel Securities.

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SEC and CFTC issue new guidance on how securities laws apply to crypto assets

On Tuesday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, together with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, issued an interpretation clarifying how federal securities law applies to crypto assets, a first step toward developing a clearer regulatory framework. 

The interpretive guidance introduces a token taxonomy for different types of cryptocurrencies, with SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins adding that “most crypto assets are not themselves securities.”

Examples of a digital commodity, “a crypto asset that is intrinsically linked to and derives its value from the programmatic operation of a crypto system that is ‘functional,’” include:

The guidance also includes definitions of digital collectibles (such as NFTs), stablecoins, digital tools, and digital securities (such as tokenized real-world assets and stocks).

This is a monumental step in the mainstream adoption of the industry and clears a hurdle in how crypto can operate going forward, according to David Pakman, head of venture investments at CoinFund. “This will allow new token designs with the confidence that their existence does not require registration with the SEC, etc.,” Pakman told Sherwood News.

Despite the clarification efforts from the two organizations, the market capitalization of the crypto industry has dropped about 2% in the last 24 hours as each of the tokens mentioned in the guidance are trading lower in the period, data from CoinGecko shows.

The joint agency action also complements congressional efforts to turn a crypto market structure framework into law. With the goal of providing regulations on the offer and sale of digital commodities, the CLARITY Act passed the House of Representatives last year and is now sitting in the Senate.

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