Metaplanet to Buy Japan's Siiibo for $13M, Paving Way for Bitcoin-Linked Yield Products
Metaplanet is shifting from simply holding Bitcoin to building investable products, agreeing to acquire Japanese securities firm Siiibo for $13 million to roll out Bitcoin-linked yield offerings for local investors.
The transaction is scheduled to close in July. Siiibo Securities will become a wholly owned subsidiary and be renamed Metaplanet Securities.
A central part of the deal is Siiibo's Type 1 Financial Instruments Business license in Japan, which allows underwriting and direct distribution of securities, including to retail clients. Siiibo also played an early role in Japan's online corporate bond market, supporting more than 100 bond issuances for over 40 companies.
Chief Executive Simon Gerovich called the acquisition "the first concrete step in Project Nova," Metaplanet's long-term effort to build a Bitcoin-centric financial ecosystem in Japan supported by its crypto holdings. Data from BitcoinTreasuries shows Metaplanet holds 40,177 BTC, worth about $2.6 billion at current prices, ranking it among the world's largest corporate Bitcoin treasuries.
Metaplanet has historically positioned Bitcoin as a hedge against yen weakness. The Siiibo purchase signals a move toward actively developing financial products tied to that treasury.
Gerovich also cited Japan's macro backdrop as supportive for yield-oriented offerings. Japanese households hold roughly $7.4 trillion in cash and deposits after decades of low inflation, and he said recent inflation pressures have prompted savers to start looking for higher returns. With Siiibo's license, Metaplanet will be able to structure and offer Bitcoin-linked yield options directly to retail customers seeking alternatives to low-rate deposits.
The move aligns with a broader push across crypto finance to meet demand for yield. Metaplanet earlier this year launched a venture arm, along with initiatives to fund early-stage companies and support open-source Bitcoin developers and educators. Elsewhere, Morpho raised $175 million to expand DeFi lending toward institutional markets, and Kraken introduced lending vaults aimed at generating Bitcoin yield.
Some major Bitcoin treasury holders have also discussed building regulated, bank-like Bitcoin capital market products, while others have drawn scrutiny after selling BTC and unsettling parts of the market.
Metaplanet's Siiibo acquisition underscores Japan's accelerating convergence of traditional finance and crypto. Pairing a licensed distribution platform with one of the industry's largest corporate Bitcoin reserves could broaden access to Bitcoin-linked yield products and test how much retail money shifts from cash savings into crypto-based investment offerings.
