Metaplanet Inc. announced on April 24 a new debt offering worth $50 million. The buyer is EVO FUND, a Cayman Islands investment fund and a recurring partner across several previous rounds. All proceeds will be directed toward buying Bitcoin for the company's corporate treasury at current market prices.
Terms of the New Offering
Metaplanet Inc. (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 3350) issued unsecured, zero-interest bonds with a face value of $50 million. The terms carry no coupon payments. EVO FUND will receive only the principal at maturity. No new shares are being issued, so existing shareholders' stakes remain unchanged. The full amount flows directly into the company's account for deployment in the BTC market.
EVO FUND has served as the sole subscriber in previous series as well. During 2025-2026, the fund subscribed to multiple tranches of similar notes, accepting the zero rate each time without objection. The fund is registered in the Cayman Islands and focuses on hedged positions in technology and cryptocurrency companies. All agreements between the two entities pass through mandatory corporate disclosures on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The company has not yet announced the precise terms of the deal, including the maturity date and covenants. This is standard practice for Metaplanet: full parameters are disclosed in regulatory filings over the following weeks. Markets responded with a rise in share prices before the full details were released, reflecting steady investor appetite for the company's Bitcoin strategy.
Why EVO FUND Buys Zero-Interest Bonds
A zero rate looks odd for a lender. EVO FUND, though, is not targeting coupon income. It is targeting Metaplanet's stock. The company's shares trade at a significant premium to the book value of its Bitcoin holdings, a ratio known in finance as premium to NAV. The market pays more per share than the underlying Bitcoin on the balance sheet is actually worth.
Metaplanet chose this structure to avoid diverting cash flow to coupon payments while keeping shareholders from dilution through new share issuance. Debt capital flows in, and corporate control stays with the original owners in full. In effect, the company is getting $50 million with zero ongoing service costs.
The model closely follows Strategy's approach: raise capital through financial markets and convert it into Bitcoin to hold for the long term. The Japanese company adapted that playbook to the Tokyo market and has been building its reserve for two years straight. Since early 2024, Metaplanet has completed several series of bond placements, growing the size of each successive tranche.
Position Among Corporate Bitcoin Holders
As of early April, Metaplanet crossed the 40,000 BTC mark and moved into third place among corporate holders globally. It has not reached the top two. Strategy holds over 815,000 BTC and remains a distant leader by position size. The gap to second place is also substantial.
Unlike most competitors, Metaplanet does not mine Bitcoin and does not offer crypto services to clients. The company rejects diversification and focuses exclusively on Bitcoin as its sole reserve asset. Profitability depends entirely on price movement and on the market's continued willingness to pay a premium for the shares. If the premium to NAV disappears, the company's entire investment thesis is at risk.
The new deal extends a series that started in 2024. The company builds its reserve through debt and equity instruments, including bonds, secondary share offerings, and direct BTC purchases on the open market. Metaplanet is now the only large Japanese public company that has placed its full corporate strategy behind Bitcoin.
Market Response and Model Risks
Metaplanet shares rose on the Tokyo Stock Exchange shortly after the announcement. After each new placement, markets have taken the bonds as a signal of further BTC purchases and briefly pushed up the price. The same pattern played out after every previous deal in this series, though the duration of the effect has shortened as investors have grown accustomed to the cadence.
Analysts also point to the model's weakness. If Bitcoin stalls or declines for an extended period, the debt load grows relative to the reserve's value. Further placements could then become more expensive or unworkable, since EVO FUND would lose the incentive to buy such bonds. That scenario is realistic in a prolonged bear market.
As long as BTC holds above $75,000, the mechanism works in the company's favor. The key question is whether the market premium to book value will hold as Metaplanet's BTC portfolio keeps growing and each new round becomes less surprising to investors.
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