On Might 23, 2025, Metaplanet topped the record of Japanese shares as essentially the most energetic inventory. The identical day, Metaplanet turned the highest loser, which didn’t cease it from being the most important inventory in Japan because it nonetheless leads by a big margin. The corporate is allegedly on the point of an enormous quick squeeze just like the GameStop 2021 state of affairs. How did this small lodge operator change into the fastest-growing inventory in Japan and a global position mannequin Bitcoin accumulator?
Whereas presently Metaplanet poses itself as “Japan’s first and only publicly listed Bitcoin Treasury Company,” it hasn’t all the time been like that. The corporate has a wealthy historical past predating Bitcoin’s existence, and Metaplanet’s newfound Bitcoin fame is simply the most recent episode of a long term.
The corporate began in 1999. On the early stage, it had a distinct identify and was working in varied spheres. In 2010, Simon Gerovich, Metaplanet’s CEO, based a lodge enterprise with price range accommodations in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan.
The COVID quarantine harmed the lodge enterprise. Across the similar time, Gerovich discovered about Michael Saylor’s Stratgy change to Bitcoin.
The essential change occurred in 2024. Right here’s how the corporate places it on its web site:
“In 2024, Metaplanet’s management embarked on a strategic pivot, recognizing Bitcoin as the world’s most scarce monetary asset and transformed the company into a Bitcoin Treasury Company.”
Metaplanet bought all of the accommodations however one. Ever since, Metaplanet has been following its new plan to aggressively stack bitcoins, that are seen as a long-term reserve asset. The corporate is working to accrue the wealth of Metaplanet’s shareholders and harness transparency and equity. The corporate’s goal is to make its inventory extra worthwhile than Bitcoin. On prime of this, Metaplanet consults different corporations about Bitcoin and Web3.
In 2026, Metaplanet plans to open its Bitcoin Resort in Tokyo, mixing its lodge enterprise origins and the corporate’s present Bitcoin technique.
At the moment, Metaplanet is without doubt one of the few corporations that adopted the footsteps of Technique, turning into a Bitcoin-centred firm, typically known as “MicroStrategy of Asia.”
As of Might 23, 2025, Metaplanet holds 7,800 BTC. It could appear that it’s a humble quantity if we evaluate it to Technique, with its BTC stack exceeding 576,000 items. Nonetheless, Technique’s treasury is extraordinary, and Metaplanet is definitely one of many main company Bitcoin holders. Its Bitcoin treasury is round $800 million in worth and ranks tenth globally. To emphasise the importance of Bitcoin over fiat cash, the primary KPI metric utilized by Metaplanet is BTC Yield.
Earlier this Might, the corporate went by means of a powerful short-seller stress that didn’t cease it from gaining extra worth and persevering with its exponential development. It took solely a yr for Metaplanet to develop its inventory value from round 40 JPY to 1,000 JPY. In 2025, the inventory’s value gained over 420%.
Metaplanet’s year-to-date 291.3% return strikingly contrasts with the almost 5% decline of the Nikkei 225, a compound index reflecting the common worth of the highest 225 Japanese shares.
Quick squeeze speculations and parallels with GameStop
Regardless of aggressive Bitcoin accumulation and speedy development, not all of the stats are bullish. In line with Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich, Metaplanet is essentially the most shorted inventory in Japan. Whereas Bitcoin treasuries are considerably fashionable, and this trendiness attracts retail and institutional buyers, hedge funds are betting towards Metaplanet and shorting its shares in bulk. Excessive volatility inside 12 months alerts an intense battle between Metaplanet bears and bulls.
Excessive volatility and nine-digit buying and selling volumes on the inventory change sign a doable high-scale quick squeeze of the Metaplanet inventory. It loosely resembles the 2021 GameStop inventory case. In 2021, hedge funds have been betting towards GameStop. Nonetheless, the activism of passion merchants from the Reddit group who collectively began to open lengthy positions resulted in an explosive 3,200% development of the GME inventory. Hedge funds couldn’t predict such an final result and misplaced $838 million in a single day.
As of Might 23, 2025, it’s unclear what the longer term holds for Metaplanet inventory and if it’ll repeat the GameStop trajectory. If hedge funds are usually not proper about the way forward for Metaplanet, they may pay a hefty value for his or her mistake. Nonetheless, if the Bitcoin technique fails for Metaplanet, the corporate could get a critical slap.
