Metaplanet’s Shares May Soon Hit ¥2,400: Benchmark

Analysts Predict Metaplanet Stock Could Reach ¥2,400

Shares of Japanese bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet continue to defy gravity, soaring 7,900% since the once embattled hotel company implemented a well-executed bitcoin (BTC) corporate strategy last year. That’s according to Benchmark, a New York-based research firm that has published a report setting Metaplanet’s one-year target stock price at 2,400 Japanese yen.

Metaplanet’s shares closed at ¥1,564.00 on Friday, according to the company’s analytics page. The firm has amassed 15,555 BTC thus far but intends to eventually acquire a total of “210,000 bitcoins by year-end 2027” the Benchmark report says. With that amount of BTC, Metaplanet would own 1% of all bitcoins that will ever be created.

The reason for Metaplanet’s success is obviously tied to its bitcoin acquisition strategy, but there are interesting quirks about Japan’s macroeconomic environment that make Metaplanet’s approach particularly effective, according to the report. Price appreciation from indirect exposure to bitcoin via the company’s shares is taxed at Japan’s capital gains rate of roughly 20.32% but gains from holding the cryptocurrency directly are taxed at rates of up to 55%.

Metaplanet also leverages Japan’s extremely low interest rates, currently at around 0.5%, according to Benchmark. The rock-bottom rates make borrowing large quantities of capital to buy high-yield assets such as bitcoin a no-brainer.

“We are reiterating our Buy rating on Metaplanet and our price target of J¥2,400,” the report says. “We believe Metaplanet’s share price is poised to continue its upward climb as it executes its financing strategy and adds to its bitcoin holdings.”