Metaplanet buys Siiibo to sell Bitcoin yield products in Japan

Metaplanet will buy Siiibo Securities for ¥2.1 billion ($13 million), gaining a Type I Financial Instruments Business registration and an online securities platform. The agreement is expected to close on July 13. Metaplanet plans to rename the brokerage Metaplanet Securities and complete platform conversion and integration by late August.

Siiibo, founded in 2019, holds the Type I registration needed in Japan to structure and distribute securities and has operated an online platform for private placements. Metaplanet’s filing shows Siiibo handled more than 100 private bond issues for over 40 companies but recorded losses of between ¥159 million and ¥175 million in each of its last three fiscal years.

The acquisition is the first under Project Nova, Metaplanet’s plan to build a Bitcoin-based financial business in Japan. Chief executive Simon Gerovich, a former Goldman Sachs derivatives trader, shifted the company from budget hotel operations and began accumulating Bitcoin in April 2024. Gerovich wrote in a post: “By bringing Siiibo’s Type I registration and online securities platform into the group, we will develop and distribute Bitcoin-related yield products directly to Japanese investors.”

Planned products include Bitcoin-linked bonds, treasury-backed preferred shares and security tokens. Each product will require final approvals from Japanese securities regulators before it can be sold. Initial distribution will start with Metaplanet’s register of roughly 250,000 shareholders, with wider retail sales to follow pending approvals and platform conversion.

Metaplanet will fund the purchase with cash and borrowings and can tap Bitcoin-backed credit lines of up to $500 million using its own treasury as collateral. The company holds 40,177 BTC, valued at about $2.6 billion at the time of the filing; the ¥2.1 billion purchase price equals roughly 0.5% of that holding.

At the time of the announcement Bitcoin traded near $63,476, down about 21% over the prior month and roughly 41% year-over-year. Metaplanet reported a steep quarterly loss from marking down its Bitcoin holdings while recording record income from Bitcoin option sales. The company has a target of accumulating 210,000 BTC and expects recurring fee income from securities distribution to help support that goal.

Metaplanet’s filing cites Bank of Japan flow-of-funds data to estimate Japanese households hold about ¥1,190 trillion in cash, deposits and other low-yield instruments. The company expects inflationary pressure to move some of those funds out of low-yield deposits.

Strategy chair Michael Saylor reposted Gerovich’s announcement; Saylor has written that reposts serve to broaden reach rather than indicate endorsement. Final regulatory clearances are required before Metaplanet can offer regulated Bitcoin-linked yield products in Japan.