Japan-based Metaplanet has now become the third-largest public firm holding Bitcoin. The ascent comes after the firm acquired 5,075 BTC, worth $405M, in Q1 2026, bringing its overall holdings to 40,177 BTC.
As of late 2025, Metaplanet held 35K BTC and ranked fourth. During that period, Bitcoin miner MARA ranked third with over 50K BTC. However, the miner offloaded over 15K BTC ($1.1 billion) in March, bringing its holdings to 38K BTC.
Collectively, the two factors led MARA to lose the third spot to Metaplanet.
Metaplanet’s 2026-2027 plan
But Metaplanet’s broader plan and long-term goal are way larger. The firm aims to acquire 210K BTC by 2027.
In 2026 alone, it plans to scale its holdings to 100K BTC. Put differently, in the remaining three quarters, it could add an extra 60K BTC.
At current prices, this would imply about $3.96 billion in needed capital to fund the 2026 deficit.
For the 5,075 BTC bought in Q1, the firm said the bid was funded by “capital market activities and operating income.” In fact, last month the firm raised $275 million, with an option to increase it to $531 million through selling its stock.
Even so, this was still short of the nearly $4B needed to hit the 2026 target. Additionally, its Bitcoin revenue, generated from selling Bitcoin Options contracts and lending and borrowing against its holdings, hit $18.9 million in Q1.
Taken together, this would bring overall funds to $550M in Q1. Still, this implied a shortfall of $3.5B to hit the 100K BTC milestone this year.
Metaplanet’s BTC strategy faces a $1.5B paper loss
That said, Metaplanet’s ascent to the third spot has not been a smooth sail. The firm’s current BTC holdings now face an unrealized loss of $1.5 billion.
The current stash was bought at $4.1B, but at current prices, it was worth $2.7B, translating to a 36% drawdown as BTC struggles below $70K.
Meanwhile, the firm has been acquiring an average of 5K BTC in the past two quarters. If the trend holds, its holdings could cross 45K BTC by the end of Q2.
If so, that would effectively help it dislodge Twenty One Capital from the second position.
Final Summary
- Metaplanet flipped MARA from the third-largest Bitcoin treasury firm after crossing the 40K BTC threshold.
- If its quarterly average buy of 5K BTC persists, Metaplanet could soon become the second-largest public company holding BTC.
