In a move that has reshaped the competitive landscape for corporate Bitcoin financing, MicroStrategy’s executive chairman Michael Saylor has publicly declared the company will not issue its “digital credit” preferred equity in Japan for at least the next twelve months. This decision, revealed during a conference dialogue with Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich, grants the Tokyo-listed firm a significant head start to establish its own Bitcoin-backed financial instruments in a market ripe for innovation.
Metaplanet’s Two-Tiered Answer to a Funding Challenge
Capitalizing on this window, Metaplanet is advancing a sophisticated two-tier capital structure designed explicitly to fund Bitcoin accumulation. The strategy features two new classes of preferred shares. The senior tier, called MARS (Metaplanet Adjustable Rate Security), is designed as a non-dilutive, stable income instrument with monthly adjustable dividends. Below it sits MERCURY, a Class B perpetual preferred equity that serves as the immediate engine for growth. The company has already moved to raise approximately $150 million (¥21.25 billion) through an issuance of 23.61 million MERCURY shares, which offer a fixed 4.9% annual dividend and include a long-dated option to convert into common stock.
This structure is a direct adaptation of MicroStrategy’s successful model for the Japanese market, which required a key innovation. Japan’s regulations prohibit the “at-the-market” (ATM) share sales that MicroStrategy utilizes elsewhere. To overcome this, Metaplanet is employing a similar mechanism known as a moving strike warrant (MSW) to manage its offerings.
Navigating a Low-Yield Market with Bitcoin-Linked Yield
The potential appeal of Metaplanet’s instruments is underscored by the local financial environment. CEO Simon Gerovich contrasted the MERCURY share’s 4.9% yield with Japanese bank deposits and money market funds that yield close to zero, highlighting a payout nearly ten times greater. This yield, combined with conversion rights linked to Bitcoin’s performance, creates a novel proposition for yield-starved domestic investors seeking cryptocurrency exposure without direct ownership risk.
The announcement comes at a critical time for Metaplanet and the broader corporate Bitcoin sector. The company, currently the fourth-largest corporate Bitcoin holder with 30,823 BTC, is trading at a market value below the net asset value of its Bitcoin treasury. Furthermore, industry data indicates a broader slowdown, with global digital asset treasury inflows hitting a yearly low in November 2025.
A Diverging Vision for the Future of Bitcoin Finance
The interaction between Saylor and Gerovich also revealed a philosophical difference in their visions for the ecosystem. While Saylor encouraged a broad proliferation of companies issuing Bitcoin-backed digital credit, Gerovich emphasized that the focus should be on balance sheet strength and execution rather than the sheer number of issuers. Metaplanet’s strategy is currently focused on dominating the Japanese and broader Asian markets, leaving global expansion to others for now.
This strategic positioning unfolds against a volatile but resilient Bitcoin market. As of December 9, 2025, Bitcoin’s price climbed to $94,000, reflecting strong technical momentum and market anticipation of monetary policy easing from the U.S. Federal Reserve. This macroeconomic backdrop, coupled with sustained institutional inflows through vehicles like spot Bitcoin ETFs, continues to provide a complex but opportunistic stage for corporate treasury strategies.
Ultimately, MicroStrategy’s tactical pause has provided Metaplanet with a clear runway. The next year will test whether the company can leverage its first-mover advantage to solidify a new Bitcoin-backed yield standard in Japan and make meaningful progress toward its ambitious goal of accumulating 210,000 BTC by 2027.
