Metaplanet buys a securities firm so its 40,177 $BTC can finally start pulling its weight 🇯🇵

Metaplanet announced on Friday it has agreed to acquire Siiibo Securities for 2.1 billion yen ($13.1 million), forming a securities arm that will develop and distribute Bitcoin-related yield products to Japanese investors. The Tokyo-listed Bitcoin ($BTC) treasury company said it entered into a share transfer agreement to acquire 100% of Siiibo, a licensed Type 1 Financial Instruments Business operator that has supported more than 100 bond offerings for over 40 companies on Japan's online corporate bond market. The deal is expected to close in July, after which Siiibo Securities will be renamed Metaplanet Securities and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary.

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich described the acquisition as "the first concrete step in Project Nova, our long-term strategy to build a Bitcoin-centric financial ecosystem in Japan." The company said Siiibo's license, corporate bond platform and existing customer base would let it create income-oriented products such as BTC-linked bonds and give it direct access to Japanese investors seeking yield. "We will develop and distribute Bitcoin-related yield products directly to Japanese investors, supported by the 40,177 BTC on our balance sheet," Gerovich wrote. He added, "We view Bitcoin not merely as a treasury reserve asset, but as the foundation of the next generation of financial ecosystems," and noted that Japanese households hold around $7.4 trillion in cash and deposits and that "that capital has already begun searching for yield."

Metaplanet's Bitcoin holdings are valued at 457.6 billion yen (about $2.8 billion), making it the largest publicly listed BTC holder in Japan and the third-largest in the world, according to data tracker Bitcoin Treasuries. The company has separately unveiled Metaplanet Ventures and Metaplanet Asset Management, with plans to deploy roughly $25 million (¥4 billion) over the next two to three years into companies building Bitcoin financial infrastructure, alongside grants for open-source Bitcoin developers and educators.

The securities push comes as Japanese financial and crypto firms position themselves ahead of a regulatory shift. Japan's Lower House reportedly passed a bill on Thursday that would bring crypto assets under the country's financial instruments framework, potentially opening a path to crypto exchange-traded funds and more favorable tax treatment for digital assets. Market infrastructure providers are also testing the integration of digital assets: the Japan Securities Clearing Corporation, part of Japan Exchange Group, said in April it would launch a proof of concept with Mizuho, Nomura and Digital Asset to test the use of Japanese government bonds as digital collateral on the Canton Network, while SBI Shinsei Bank is reportedly preparing a deposit-linked crypto rewards service that would allow customers to receive vouchers redeemable for Bitcoin, Ether ($ETH) or XRP through SBI VC Trade.