Japan’s hotelier-turned-Bitcoin-buyer Metaplanet Inc. overtook memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp. in terms of market capitalization as the stock soared nearly 400% in less than two months, riding the global crypto rally.
Metaplanet’s market value surpassed ¥1 trillion ($6.9 billion) for the first time on Monday, extending gains which also took it past chipmaker Screen Holdings Co. and Tokyo Metro Co., operator of one of the world’s biggest subway systems.
The stock rocketed 26% Monday as it announced its purchase of ¥16.9 billion worth of Bitcoin which hit a record of $111,980 on May 22. Metaplanet has plans to raise about $5.4 billion to add to its Bitcoin stockpile. The company is among a growing cadre of listed entities globally that have followed the strategy adopted by Strategy, the software maker that has amassed more than $60 billion of the original digital asset.
Over a five-year period, Metaplanet shares have soared more than 3,000%.
Bitcoin Hoarder’s Stock Soars 4,800% in Japan on Crypto Rally
But not everyone is convinced Metaplanet’s rally will last. Short positions have grown to about 23% of its free float as of June 12, the largest among Tokyo-listed companies of at least that size, according to data from S&P Global.
Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Standard section for medium-sized companies and basic governance standards, Metaplanet is the largest stock on the bourse without any analyst coverage, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Crypto giants set for EU green light amid growing regulatory rift
Two of the world’s largest cryptocurrency companies are poised to secure licences granting them access to operate across the European Union, as a rift grows among regulators over the speed and rigour of some countries’ approvals, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Under the EU’s new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which came into force earlier this year, member states can issue licences that allow crypto companies to operate throughout the 27-nation bloc, but some have raised concerns in closed-door meetings about the speed with which licences are being granted, two people familiar with those discussions said, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
At stake is the oversight of the multi-trillion-dollar crypto industry, which regulators have long warned could facilitate fraud, market instability and illicit financial flows if it is not properly supervised.
–With contribution from Reuters