Benchmark says Metaplanet's ¥2.1B ($13M) acquisition of Siiibo Securities is the foundation for a Bitcoin-backed "Bitbonds" market in Japan, not just a minor brokerage purchase.
Crypto Business News
Investment firm Benchmark says the market has underestimated what Metaplanet's acquisition of Japanese brokerage Siiibo Securities actually means for the company. Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer made that argument after meeting with Dylan LeClair, Metaplanet's Director of Bitcoin Strategy. Palmer wrote that most observers read the 2.1 billion yen (roughly $13 million) deal as a routine, small-scale addition to the business. He said that reading misses the company's broader goal.
The acquisition gave Metaplanet a Type-1 Financial Instrument Business Operator license. That license allows the holder to structure and distribute securities in Japan. LeClair told Benchmark that obtaining the same license through a standard application typically takes several months or more. Buying Siiibo gave Metaplanet that regulatory standing without the wait.
Building a Bitcoin-Backed Bond Market
Metaplanet's plan for the brokerage has nothing to do with raising money for its own Bitcoin (BTC) purchases. LeClair said the goal is to turn Metaplanet Securities into an open platform, which other companies pursuing a Bitcoin treasury strategy would use to issue debt and fund their own BTC holdings. Metaplanet is calling these instruments "Bitbonds." The bonds are designed to carry yields of roughly 4% to 6%. The company plans to eventually settle them on-chain using stablecoins. A secondary market for the bonds would follow over the coming years.
Palmer connected this plan to Metaplanet's "Project Nova" roadmap. That roadmap lays out a strategy to grow the company beyond simply holding BTC on its balance sheet. It involves acquiring businesses with operating cash flows and building what LeClair described as "a new kind of financial institution from Japan, with bitcoin at its core."
Related Article: Metaplanet Buys Siiibo Securities for $13M To Build Bitcoin Platform
Investors Still Pricing It as a Simple BTC Proxy
Palmer wrote that the current stock price reflects a company passively holding Bitcoin rather than one building capital market infrastructure. "The market is still pricing Metaplanet as a passive bitcoin proxy while the company is preparing to execute on a plan to bootstrap an entire capital market," he wrote. Benchmark kept its Buy rating on the stock. It maintained a price target of 405 yen, or roughly $2.47 per share.
Metaplanet currently holds 43,000 BTC, valued at close to $2.8 billion. That makes it the third-largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin treasury by holdings. Palmer's argument is that the Siiibo acquisition is the regulatory foundation that makes the rest of the company's roadmap executable.
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