Japan’s GameStop? Metaplanet rides Bitcoin and bear bait into stock market mayhem
On May 23, Metaplanet pulled off a rare trifecta: it was the most traded stock in Japan, the dayâs biggest loser, and stillâsomehowâremained one of the countryâs top-performing equities. Once a modest hotel operator, the company is now a headline-grabbing Bitcoin accumulator, drawing comparisons to GameStopâs 2021 short squeeze saga. So how did a little-known firm go from budget beds to big bets on Bitcoinâand land at the center of Japanâs most volatile stock story?
Table of ContentsHow Metaplanet chose BitcoinMetaplanet todayShort squeeze speculations and parallels with GameStop
How Metaplanet chose Bitcoin
While currently Metaplanet poses itself as âJapanâs first and only publicly listed Bitcoin Treasury Company,â it hasnât always been like that.
The company has a rich history predating Bitcoinâs existence, and Metaplanetâs newfound Bitcoin fame is just the latest episode of a long run.
The company started in 1999. At the early stage, it had a different name and was working in various spheres. In 2010, Simon Gerovich, Metaplanetâs CEO, founded a hotel business with budget hotels in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan.Â
The COVID quarantine harmed the hotel business. Around the same time, Gerovich learned about Michael Saylorâs Strategy switch to Bitcoin.
The crucial change occurred in 2024. Hereâs how the company puts it on its website:
âIn 2024, Metaplanetâs management embarked on a strategic pivot, recognizing Bitcoin as the worldâs most scarce monetary asset and transformed the company into a Bitcoin Treasury Company.â
Metaplanet sold all the hotels but one. Ever since, It has been following its new plan to aggressively stack bitcoins, which are seen as a long-term reserve asset. The company is working to accrue the wealth of its shareholders and harness transparency and fairness.
Its aim is to make its stock more profitable than Bitcoin. In addition, Metaplanet consults other companies about Bitcoin and Web3.
Read more:Metaplanet CEO eyes 10k Bitcoin goal, vows long-term value creation
In 2026, Metaplanet plans to open its Bitcoin Hotel in Tokyo, blending its hotel business origins and the companyâs current Bitcoin strategy.
https://twitter.com/isabellasg3/status/1905208167405101328
Metaplanet today
Today, Metaplanet is one of the few companies that followed the footsteps of Strategy, becoming a Bitcoin-centered company, sometimes referred to as âMicroStrategy of Asia.âÂ
As of May 23, Metaplanet holds 7,800 BTC. It may seem that itâs a humble amount if we compare it to Strategy, with its BTC stack exceeding 576,000 units. However, Strategyâs treasury is extraordinary, and Metaplanet is actually one of the leading corporate Bitcoin holders.
Its Bitcoin treasury is around $800 million in value and ranks tenth globally. To emphasize the significance of Bitcoin over fiat money, the main KPI metric used by Metaplanet is BTC Yield.
https://twitter.com/gerovich/status/1925879544939938113
Earlier this May, the company experienced strong short-seller pressure, but that didnât stop it from gaining more value and continuing its exponential growth. It took only a year for Metaplanet to grow its stock price from around 40 JPY to 1,000 JPY. In 2025, the stockâs price gained over 420%.Â
Metaplanetâs year-to-date 291.3% return strikingly contrasts with the nearly 5% decline of the Nikkei 225, a compound index reflecting the average value of the top 225 Japanese stocks.
Short squeeze speculations and parallels with GameStop
Despite aggressive Bitcoin accumulation and speedy growth, not all the stats are bullish. According to Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich, Metaplanet is the most shorted stock in Japan.
While Bitcoin treasuries are somewhat trendy, and this trendiness attracts retail and institutional investors, hedge funds are betting against Metaplanet and shorting its stocks in bulk. High volatility within 12 months signals an intense battle between Metaplanet bears and bulls.
High volatility and nine-digit trading volumes on the stock exchange signal a possible high-scale short squeeze of the Metaplanet stock. It loosely resembles the 2021 GameStop stock case. In 2021, hedge funds were betting against GameStop.
However, the activism of hobby traders from the Reddit group who collectively started to open long positions resulted in an explosive 3,200% growth of the GME stock. Hedge funds couldnât predict such an outcome and lost $838 million in a single day.
It is unclear what the future holds for Metaplanet stock and if it will repeat the GameStop trajectory. If hedge funds are not right about Metaplanetâs future, they will pay a hefty price for their mistake. However, if the Bitcoin strategy fails for Metaplanet, the company may get a serious slap.
Read more:GameStop dives into Bitcoin, but investors arenât buying itâ¦yet
2025-05-24 05:09:17
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