(Bloomberg) — Metaplanet Inc.’s enterprise value dipped below that of its Bitcoin reserves, underscoring diminishing investor appetite for so-called digital-asset treasury firms globally.
The Tokyo-listed hotelier pivoted to accumulating the original cryptocurrency in April 2024 and once commanded a hefty premium to its Bitcoin net asset value. Its shares hit an all-time high in mid-June but have slumped about 70% since, dragging the company’s mNAV — the ratio of its market capitalization and debt to its token holdings — to 0.99 at one point on Tuesday, according to data published by the company.
Metaplanet didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
For digital asset-treasury firms or DATs, trading at a discount is significant. They have boomed this year by offering investors exposure to tokens in the more familiar format of a listed equity. Demand has been such that the majority traded at a premium to their holdings over summer. Now, Metaplanet is entering uncharted waters.
It isn’t alone. The share prices of numerous token hoarders have come under pressure in recent weeks, as the pace of their buying slows.
“I still see this crypto treasury stock decline as a popping of a bubble,” said Mark Chadwick, a Japan equity analyst who publishes research on Smartkarma and previously worked at Jefferies. The slump is a sign that “general euphoria” around Bitcoin-stockpiling has cooled, although “long-term Bitcoin bulls” may see Metaplanet’s discount as an opportunity to buy, he added.
Metaplanet currently holds more than 30,000 Bitcoin, worth about $3.4 billion, its website shows.
The company’s shareholders recently approved a plan allowing it to issue preferred shares — securities that combine features of equity and debt. The firm raised around $1.4 billion to fuel its Bitcoin buying spree via an international equity sale in September.
Crypto traders were hit by a record of $19 billion in liquidations on October 10, coinciding with severe volatility that saw most major tokens sink after US President Donald Trump said he would impose harsher tariffs on China.
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