Metaplanet – “Japan’s GameStop” Is Challenging Tokyo’s Financial District With Bitcoin Gambling

While Japan’s financial markets are witnessing a prolonged gloom, a prominent name is stirring up every stock chart – Metaplanet. On May 23, Metaplanet’s stock made a rare trio: the most traded stock on the exchange, the biggest loser of the day, but also among the strongest gainers of the year.

From a mid-range hotel operator, Metaplanet has now transformed itself into a public “Bitcoin treasury”, comparable to venture capital strategies like MicroStrategy of the US. The company’s bold moves are making investors and hedge funds unable to sit still.

From Cheap Motel to “National Bitcoin Treasury”
Established in 1999, Metaplanet used to operate under a different name and do business in many fields. In 2010, current CEO Simon Gerovich focused on the hotel industry with a chain of budget motels in Thailand, the Philippines, and Japan.

But the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a fatal blow to the tourism industry. In that context, Gerovich – attracted by billionaire Michael Saylor’s “bitcoinization” strategy – began to think differently.

In 2024, Metaplanet officially changed direction: selling most of its hotel portfolio, restructuring its business model to become the first publicly listed Bitcoin accumulator in Japan. The company’s website states:

“We recognize Bitcoin as the world’s scarcest monetary asset. Metaplanet is no longer a traditional business – we are a digital treasury.”

The company not only holds BTC as a reserve asset but also advises other businesses on Web3 strategies, and has announced plans to open a Bitcoin Hotel in Tokyo by 2026 – a model that combines the old and new strategies.

An “Asian MicroStrategy” With Huge Ambitions
As of May 2025, Metaplanet holds around 7,800 BTC – a small number compared to MicroStrategy’s over 576,000 BTC, but enough to put Metaplanet in the top 10 largest Bitcoin holders in the world.

The value of the treasury is estimated at around $800 million, and the company has switched all traditional financial metrics to Bitcoin Yield – instead of Japanese yen or USD. This is the company’s way of emphasizing the importance of BTC as a “neutral international currency”.

Explosive Growth Despite Short Selling Pressure
In just one year, Metaplanet’s stock price has risen from 40 yen to over 1,000 yen, representing a gain of more than 2,400% from its low. In 2025, the stock returned +420%, far exceeding the nearly 5% decline in the Nikkei 225.

However, not everyone is buying into the Metaplanet story. Many hedge funds in Japan have taken large-scale short positions in the stock – betting on the company’s collapse if Bitcoin prices plunge.

Metaplanet is now one of the most shorted stocks in Japan, with trading volume exceeding hundreds of millions of units, according to CEO Gerovich. This has many observers starting to think of the GameStop story of 2021 – where hedge funds lost hundreds of millions of dollars because they misjudged the behavior of retail investors.

Is “Short Squeeze” Back?
Is Metaplanet Facing a Historic Short Squeeze? As hedge funds continue to pile in, individual investors – especially those in the crypto community – are flocking to the stock as a symbol of “resistance to Financial Street.”

On Twitter, many Japanese investors have dubbed Metaplanet “Japan’s GameStop” – a small company that can beat big hedge funds thanks to its “contrarian” strategy and belief in Bitcoin.

However, the risks are not small. If the BTC strategy fails, the stock price could plummet, and shareholders will suffer the consequences. Meanwhile, bears are persistently betting on a correction scenario.

Conclusion: Metaplanet – The Biggest Gamble on the Tokyo Stock Exchange?
Whether you’re a Bitcoin believer or a skeptic of Metaplanet’s “one-size-fits-all” strategy, there’s no denying that the company has done something extraordinary: transforming itself from a run-of-the-mill hotel company into a symbol of volatility, innovation, and daring to challenge traditional investment norms.

In an age where currencies, assets, and technology are increasingly intertwined, Metaplanet may represent a new era of investing—where those companies that dare to stay ahead of the curve can make waves, or be drowned by them.