Metaplanet Acquires Japanese Securities Firm for $13M to Launch Bitcoin Yield Products

Japanese Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet is acquiring securities firm Siiibo for $13 million to develop and distribute Bitcoin-linked yield products directly to Japanese investors, marking its expansion beyond simple Bitcoin accumulation into active financial product development.

The acquisition target, Siiibo Securities, holds a Type 1 Financial Instruments Business license and pioneered Japan’s online corporate bond market, supporting more than 100 bond offerings for over 40 companies. Following the July closing, the firm will rebrand as Metaplanet Securities.

In a tweet, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich called the deal “the first concrete step in Project Nova, our long-term strategy to build a Bitcoin-centric financial ecosystem in Japan,” leveraging the company’s substantial Bitcoin treasury. Metaplanet is the third-largest Bitcoin treasury company with reserves of 40,177 BTC, per BitcoinTreasuries, worth approximately $2.6 billion at current prices.

The securities acquisition represents a strategic evolution for Metaplanet, which has historically accumulated Bitcoin as a hedge against yen devaluation. “We view Bitcoin not merely as a treasury reserve asset, but as the foundation of the next generation of financial ecosystems,” Gerovich said in a statement. He pointed to the company’s Project Nova initiative, which aims to create a “Bitcoin-centric ecosystem” in the medium- to long-term.

Gerovich highlighted an emerging market shift in Japan, where households held around $7.4 trillion in cash and deposits, reflecting decades of deflation. Japan’s recent shift toward inflation creates potential demand for yield-generating alternatives, he argued, noting that, “that capital has already begun searching for yield.” With direct access to Japanese retail investors through the securities license, Metaplanet can now offer Bitcoin-linked products to capture a portion of these substantial household savings seeking returns.

Earlier this year, Metaplanet unveiled a venture arm and investment initiative, targeting early- and growth-stage companies and grants for open-source Bitcoin developers and educators. The firm’s push into Bitcoin yield products follows similar moves by crypto firms targeting institutional demand. Morpho raised $175 million to expand DeFi lending to Wall Street, while Kraken launched lending vaults for Bitcoin yield generation.

In 2024, Bitcoin treasury company Strategy revealed its ambition to become a “Bitcoin bank,” according to its Chairman Michael Saylor, creating capital market instruments tied to Bitcoin that can be offered to investors. In recent weeks, the firm sold Bitcoin for the first time since 2022, rocking the crypto market and, some skeptics argued, exposing a “structural crack” in its Bitcoin flywheel.