Key Takeaways
- If Trump establishes a strategic bitcoin reserve, it could lead to Japan and other Asian countries doing the same.
- Metaplanet achieved a 1,900% increase in stock value, which is often called the Asian micro-strategy due to its investment in Bitcoin.
If Trump deploys Bitcoin as a strategic reserve, Japan and other Asian nations will follow suit, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich said at a recent Bitcoin event hosted by Michael Saylor.
Tokyo-based Metaplanet, which started its Bitcoin strategy last April, currently has 1,762 BTC worth approximately $165 million. The company is often referred to as Asia’s microstrategy because of its investment approach.
Metaplanet’s adoption of Bitcoin is a response to Japan’s rising debt and yen volatility. Investing in bitcoin helped the company avoid a challenging period, which Gerovic previously compared to a “zombie” company.
“Slowly but surely seeing that Bitcoin is becoming a topic of discussion at the highest levels of government, corporations around the world are starting to adopt it as the Bitcoin standard,” Gerovic he said. “Now all we want to do is accumulate more bitcoins over time for our shareholders.” And so 2024 will be the year it all started.”
The company reported its strongest financial performance since 2017, achieving a return of over 26 times its initial investment. Shares of Metaplanet are up 1,900% for the year, according to Yahoo Finance dataoutperforming all Japanese stock indexes.
Recap 2024:
– #1 Return % in Japan: 2.629%
– Market capitalization growth no. 1 in Japan
– 0 to 1,761 $BTC HODL
– #15 on the list of BTC holders globally
– 1st projected profit since 2017
– 388k trade volume per year/yearUntil 2025. 🚀 pic.tvitter.com/NJKkKZgPuj
— Metaplanet Inc. (@Metaplanet_JP) December 31, 2024
When asked if he thought the US president-elect would adopt bitcoin as a strategic reserve, Gerovich said “absolutely”.
“Let’s hope that President Trump will do what he said he would, which is to make bitcoin a strategic reserve, and then countries around the world will follow,” he added.
It was one of Trump’s key crypto promisesand with his election, the crypto community hopes to fulfill this obligation.
Since winning a second term, Trump has taken steps to fulfill his promises, including creating a more cryptocurrency-friendly environment for businesses.
He appointed several individuals with pro-crypto and pro-innovation perspectives to key financial positions. All confirm an imminent change in the regulatory approach to the fast-growing industry.
“We’re going to do something great with cryptocurrency.” We don’t want China or anybody else to lead — we want to be in charge,” Trump he stated as he rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange after his election victory.
If the US doesn’t take the lead in cryptocurrencies, another country, probably China, will, Trump said Bloomberg in an interview last year. The president-elect previously stated that the US “must be a leader on the ground, there is no other place.”