On May 23, 2025, Metaplanet topped the list of Japanese stocks as the most active stock. The same day, Metaplanet became the top loser, which didn’t stop it from being the biggest stock in Japan as it still leads by a large margin. The company is allegedly on the brink of a huge short squeeze similar to the GameStop 2021 situation. How did this small hotel operator become the fastest-growing stock in Japan and an international role model Bitcoin accumulator?
While currently Metaplanet poses itself as “Japan’s first and only publicly listed Bitcoin Treasury Company,” it hasn’t always been like that. The company has a rich history predating Bitcoin’s existence, and Metaplanet’s 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, Metaplanet’s CEO, founded a hotel business with budget hotels in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan.
The COVID quarantine harmed the hotel business. Around the same time, Gerovich learned about Michael Saylor’s Stratgy switch to Bitcoin.
The crucial change occurred in 2024. Here’s how the company puts it on its website:
“In 2024, Metaplanet’s management embarked on a strategic pivot, recognizing Bitcoin as the world’s most scarce monetary asset and transformed the company into a Bitcoin Treasury Company.”
Metaplanet sold all the hotels but one. Ever since, Metaplanet 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 Metaplanet’s shareholders and harness transparency and fairness. The company’s aim is to make its stock more profitable than Bitcoin. On top of this, Metaplanet consults other companies about Bitcoin and Web3.
In 2026, Metaplanet plans to open its Bitcoin Hotel in Tokyo, blending its hotel business origins and the company’s current Bitcoin strategy.
Today, Metaplanet is one of the few companies that followed the footsteps of Strategy, becoming a Bitcoin-centred company, sometimes referred to as “MicroStrategy of Asia.”
As of May 23, 2025, Metaplanet holds 7,800 BTC. It may seem that it’s a humble amount if we compare it to Strategy, with its BTC stack exceeding 576,000 units. However, Strategy’s 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.
Earlier this May, the company went through a strong short-seller pressure that didn’t 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 stock’s price gained over 420%.
Metaplanet’s 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 couldn’t predict such an outcome and lost $838 million in a single day.
As of May 23, 2025, 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 the future of Metaplanet, they will pay a hefty price for their mistake. However, if the Bitcoin strategy fails for Metaplanet, the company may get a serious slap.
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