Metaplanet (TYO 3350), Japan’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, has opened a joint study into Bitcoin-backed digital credit instruments.
It announced the project on X through a notice on digital credit using BTC, JPYC, and security tokens. The study brings together Metaplanet, its brokerage arm Metaplanet Securities, yen-stablecoin issuer JPYC, and digital securities platform Progmat.
Progmat issued a release the same day. They are assessing how Bitcoin, JPYC, and security tokens may support a blockchain-based structure for issuing and managing credit products, including corporate bonds.
Bitcoin-Backed Credit Study Begins
Under the model, each asset has a defined role. Bitcoin would serve as collateral or reserves. JPYC, pegged one-to-one to the Japanese yen, would handle settlement and payments. Security tokens would represent fractional claims on debt instruments such as corporate bonds.
Dylan LeClair, managing director of Bitcoin Strategy at Metaplanet, wrote on X that the group has “commenced a joint study regarding BTC-backed digital credit instruments capable of supporting 24/7/365 trading and daily prorated interest accrual.”
The plan remains a feasibility study. The firms have not announced a timetable, product, or target size.
Metaplanet Bitcoin Reserves Drive Study
Metaplanet holds 43,000 BTC as of July 7, valued at about $2.8 billion, according to BitcoinTreasuries.net. It is the third-largest corporate Bitcoin holder, behind Strategy and Twenty One Capital. The company has purchased Bitcoin steadily since 2023, following the treasury approach Michael Saylor developed at Strategy.
Metaplanet’s Bitcoin holdings are central to the credit discussion. In theory, a company with billions in Bitcoin can use reserves to collateralize lending rather than selling the asset.
In March, CEO Simon Gerovich announced Metaplanet Ventures and Miami-based Metaplanet Asset Management, focused on digital credit and Bitcoin capital markets. The venture arm also committed 400 million yen, or about $2.5 million, to JPYC’s Series B round. JPYC issues its yen stablecoin against bank deposits and government bonds and runs on Ethereum, Avalanche, and Polygon.
Strategy Digital Credit Model Offers Context
Metaplanet’s effort follows an existing template in the Bitcoin treasury market. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, has raised and continues to raise billions this year through equity, convertible debt, and preferred stock. Strategy also unveiled a Digital Credit Capital Framework on June 29, while its digital credit assets have grown from zero to about $14 billion in 15 months.
Saylor wrote on X on July 9, “Digital Credit is transparent because the principal market risk factor is Bitcoin, an observable, homogeneous asset.”
The comparison highlights risk. These instruments remain leveraged exposures to a volatile asset. If Bitcoin declines sharply, collateral values weaken while obligations remain fixed, a concern raised by Strategy critics. For Metaplanet, the work is still a study into whether a yen-denominated structure can meet Japan’s regulatory requirements.
