Japan's Bitcoin Treasury Company Just Printed Its Best Year Ever
Metaplanet, the Tokyo-listed company that has become Japan's largest corporate Bitcoin holder, released its full fiscal year 2025 earnings on February 16, reporting revenue of 8.9 billion yen ($57.7 million), up 738% year-over-year. The result beat even the company's own upwardly revised forecast of 6.8 billion yen by 31%.
The headline number is impressive on its own. But the real story sits in the Bitcoin treasury: Metaplanet ended FY2025 holding 35,102 BTC, a nearly 20-fold surge from the roughly 1,762 BTC it held a year earlier. That stack is worth more than $3 billion at current prices, making Metaplanet the fourth-largest public company Bitcoin holder globally behind Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), Marathon Digital, and Riot Platforms.
From Hotel Operator to Bitcoin Accumulation Machine
Metaplanet's transformation has been one of the most dramatic pivots in corporate history. Originally a hotel and real estate company struggling with post-pandemic headwinds, the firm adopted a Bitcoin treasury strategy in April 2024, explicitly modeling itself after Michael Saylor's playbook at Strategy.
The results have been staggering. Operating income for FY2025 came in at 6.3 billion yen, up 34% from its revised forecast. The company's BTC Yield, a proprietary metric measuring Bitcoin growth per fully diluted share, reached 568% for the full year. That metric has become central to how the company communicates value to shareholders, similar to how Strategy tracks its own BTC yield to justify continued accumulation.
Metaplanet's stock price reflects the market's approval. Shares surged more than 3,000% during 2025, making it one of the best-performing equities on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The 104.6 Billion Yen Elephant in the Room
Buried in the results is a line item that would terrify any traditional investor: a 104.6 billion yen ($680 million) impairment loss on Bitcoin holdings for FY2025. This forced Metaplanet to report an ordinary loss of 98.6 billion yen and a net loss of 76.6 billion yen for the fiscal year.
Here is where the accounting gets interesting. Under Japanese GAAP, companies must mark down digital asset holdings when prices fall below the acquisition cost, but they cannot mark them back up when prices recover unless the assets are sold. This means Metaplanet's balance sheet reflects the worst moments of Bitcoin's price during the year, not its current value.
The company has been explicit that this impairment is a non-cash accounting adjustment that does not affect actual cash flows or business fundamentals. It is the same accounting friction that haunted Strategy for years before the US adopted new fair-value rules for digital assets in early 2025. Japan has not yet made that transition, which means Metaplanet will continue booking paper losses even if Bitcoin rallies.
For investors, the divergence between accounting losses and operating performance creates a literacy test: those who understand the mechanics see an aggressively growing company, while those who stop at the net loss line see a firm deep in the red.
FY2026 Outlook: Doubling Down With a 16 Billion Yen Target
Metaplanet is not slowing its accumulation. The company's FY2026 guidance projects revenue of 16 billion yen ($104 million), an 80% jump from FY2025, with operating profit expected at 11.4 billion yen ($74 million). Of the projected revenue, 15.6 billion yen is expected to come from Bitcoin income generation activities, including options premiums, lending, and trading gains on its BTC stack.
The company has also set an accumulation target of 210,000 BTC by the end of 2029, signaling that the current 35,102 BTC is just the opening chapter. To fund this, Metaplanet has used a mix of convertible bonds, at-the-market equity offerings, and Bitcoin-backed loan facilities, closely mirroring Strategy's capital markets approach.
This strategy carries real risk. If Bitcoin enters a prolonged downturn, the combination of debt obligations and impairment losses could pressure the company's ability to raise capital on favorable terms. The VanEck analysis identifying five forces that could push Bitcoin to $60K is worth reading in that context.
What This Means for the Corporate Bitcoin Playbook
Metaplanet's success is accelerating a trend that extends well beyond Japan. Corporate Bitcoin treasuries are no longer a US-only phenomenon. In addition to Metaplanet, companies in Brazil, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and the UAE have either adopted or explored Bitcoin reserve strategies.
For the Japanese crypto market, Metaplanet's profile is particularly significant. Japan has a well-developed regulatory framework for digital assets, and a Tokyo-listed company successfully running a Bitcoin treasury strategy provides cover for other Japanese corporates considering the same move.
The broader implication for crypto holders is that corporate demand adds a persistent bid to Bitcoin markets. Every quarter that Metaplanet reports strong results and continues accumulating, it validates the thesis that Bitcoin functions as a viable corporate treasury asset. This institutional demand floor matters for anyone holding BTC in their crypto card wallet or earning Bitcoin-denominated rewards, because it supports the long-term value proposition of the asset they are accumulating through everyday spending.
The Accounting Gap That Could Change Everything
One under-discussed angle is the regulatory arbitrage at play. In the US, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) adopted fair-value accounting for digital assets effective January 2025, allowing companies like Strategy to report unrealized gains on their Bitcoin holdings. Japan has not adopted equivalent rules.
This means Metaplanet is competing with one hand tied behind its back from a reporting perspective. If Japan's Accounting Standards Board follows the FASB's lead, Metaplanet's balance sheet could swing dramatically into the black overnight, simply by reflecting the current market value of its 35,102 BTC rather than historical impairment lows.
The company has lobbied for this change, and the Japanese government's generally progressive stance on digital assets suggests it may come sooner than the market expects.
FAQ
How much Bitcoin does Metaplanet hold? As of the end of FY2025 (reported February 16, 2026), Metaplanet holds 35,102 BTC, worth approximately $3 billion. This represents a nearly 20-fold increase from 1,762 BTC at the start of the fiscal year.
Why did Metaplanet report a net loss despite strong revenue? Japanese GAAP requires companies to write down digital asset holdings when prices drop below acquisition cost but does not allow marking them back up until sold. Metaplanet booked a 104.6 billion yen ($680 million) impairment loss, which is a non-cash accounting entry that does not affect actual cash flows.
Is Metaplanet the largest corporate Bitcoin holder? No. Metaplanet is the fourth-largest public company Bitcoin holder, behind Strategy (714,644 BTC), Marathon Digital, and Riot Platforms. However, it is the largest corporate BTC holder in Asia.
What is Metaplanet's BTC Yield? BTC Yield measures Bitcoin growth per fully diluted share. Metaplanet's BTC Yield reached 568% for FY2025, meaning shareholders' effective Bitcoin exposure per share grew significantly even as more shares were issued.
Overview
Metaplanet's FY2025 results tell two stories simultaneously. The operating story is exceptional: 738% revenue growth, a 20x surge in Bitcoin holdings to 35,102 BTC, and aggressive FY2026 guidance targeting 16 billion yen in revenue. The accounting story looks dire: a 104.6 billion yen impairment loss that pushed the company into a reported net loss. The gap between these two narratives comes down to a single regulatory detail, how Japan accounts for digital assets, and if that rule changes, Metaplanet's financial portrait could transform overnight. For the broader market, Metaplanet's success is proof that the corporate Bitcoin treasury playbook works beyond US borders, adding another layer of institutional demand to an asset that crypto card holders and long-term investors alike are building positions in through everyday spending.
Recommended Reading
- Strategy Signals Its 99th Bitcoin Purchase as Saylor Buys the Dip on 714,644 BTC and a $5.1 Billion Unrealized Loss
- Bitcoin Has Lost Half Its Value Since October and VanEck Says Five Forces Are to Blame
- Crypto Funds Bleed for a Fourth Straight Week as $3.7 Billion Exits, but Europe and Altcoins Tell a Different Story
