Japanese investment firm Metaplanet surpassed El Salvador in Bitcoin holdings in May 2025 after buying 1,241 BTC for about $129 million. The purchase lifted its holdings to 6,796 BTC, putting the company ahead of El Salvador’s reported 6,714 BTC at the time.
The announcement came on May 12, with Metaplanet saying it paid an average of $101,843 per Bitcoin. CEO Simon Gerovich celebrated the milestone on X, saying the company was only getting started.
The comparison with El Salvador highlighted how quickly corporate Bitcoin treasury strategies were growing. Metaplanet had only adopted its Bitcoin strategy in April 2024, but it was already using repeated purchases and capital-market financing to build a large BTC reserve.
*Metaplanet Acquires Additional 1,241 $BTC* https://t.co/zrJYzaZJq6
— Metaplanet Inc. (@Metaplanet) May 12, 2025
Metaplanet’s aggressive accumulation strategy
Just days before the 1,241 BTC purchase, Metaplanet secured another 555 BTC for about $53 million. The company was increasing its purchases while also raising capital to fund further acquisitions.
Metaplanet’s strategy was not simply about accumulating Bitcoin. It also tracked BTC Yield, a measure of how its Bitcoin holdings changed relative to its fully diluted share count. The company reported a 38% BTC Yield for the quarter, following 95.6% in Q1 2025.
This metric became central to Metaplanet’s strategy because raising money to buy Bitcoin can increase BTC exposure per share, but issuing additional shares can also dilute existing shareholders. The value of the strategy therefore depends not only on how much Bitcoin the company owns, but on how efficiently it increases Bitcoin exposure relative to its share count.
Also Read: Metaplanet Tests a New Bitcoin Credit Market With Its First Bond Sale
From 6,796 BTC to more than 40,000
Metaplanet’s growth did not stop with the purchase described above. The company later expanded its Bitcoin treasury through additional equity and debt financing. Its official disclosures show that holdings reached 40,177 BTC by March 31, 2026.
Metaplanet now describes itself as a Bitcoin Treasury Company and says its strategy is built around acquiring and holding Bitcoin while using BTC Yield as a key performance measure.
The company’s expansion also changed the significance of its earlier comparison with El Salvador. What began as a race to surpass a sovereign Bitcoin holder became part of a much larger corporate treasury strategy. Metaplanet’s current holdings are several times higher than the 6,796 BTC it held when it first passed El Salvador.
Meanwhile, Michael Saylor’s Strategy remains another major corporate Bitcoin holder. His earlier “Connect the dots” post had fueled speculation about another purchase, showing how closely investors were watching the increasingly aggressive corporate Bitcoin-buying trend.
Enjoyed this? Bookmark DeFi Planet, explore related topics, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and CoinMarketCap Community for seamless access to high-quality industry insights
Take control of your crypto portfolio with DEFI PLANET PRO, DeFi Planet’s suite of analytics tools.
