On the again of recurring multi-billion greenback ETF inflows, Asian mid-cap shares are beginning to appear to be the following structural bid for Bitcoin’s float.
Japan’s Metaplanet has over 30,00BTC on its steadiness sheet, and South Korea’s BitPlanet has launched a supervised rules-based accumulation program.
What began as remoted monetary experiments, equivalent to Nexon’s 2021 acquisition and Meitu’s short-term holding, has transitioned into programmatic accumulation.
Metaplanet reworked from a hotelier to a Bitcoin finance firm, issuing month-to-month buy notifications and explicitly elevating funds to purchase extra BTC.
Bitplanet has rebranded from SGA Options and launched South Korea’s first regulated company Bitcoin buy program with a each day buy goal of 10,000 BTC.
In parallel, smaller listed corporations are additionally attempting to maneuver into the mid-cap area. Thailand’s DV8 has accomplished step one of its crypto asset pivot with 99.9% warrant execution, elevating CA$7.4 million.
In the meantime, corporations equivalent to AsiaStrategy and HK Asia Holdings have re-established themselves because the itemizing car for company Bitcoin publicity in Hong Kong.
AsiaStrategy, previously a luxurious items retailer generally known as Prime Win Worldwide, now allocates a portion of its funds to Bitcoin and accepts BTC for the sale of its merchandise. We at the moment have roughly 30 BTC on our steadiness sheet and intention to succeed in $1 billion in Bitcoin.
HK Asia Holdings has equally moved to a Bitcoin-denominated monetary mannequin, revealing purchases totaling roughly 28.9 BTC earlier this 12 months as a part of a broader digital asset technique consistent with Sora Ventures’ “MicroStrategy for Asia” framework.
The query isn’t whether or not corporations will add Bitcoin, however whether or not Asian mid-cap shares can soak up sufficient new provide to meaningfully tighten their float in parallel with ETF demand.
If this group maintains this 12 months’s tempo, their internet purchases may match or exceed a good portion of miner issuance, main to a different structured bid layered on prime of spot ETF move.
Asia Cohort: Who’s Shopping for?
Japan has a bonus among the many Asian teams. Metaplanet transitioned from resorts to Bitcoin vaults in December 2024 and continued to speed up via 2025 with frequent buy bulletins. By February twentieth, the corporate held roughly 2,100 BTC. By September 30, that determine had reached 30,823 BTC, making Metaplanet the fourth largest firm on the planet amongst company holders, in accordance with Bitcoin Treasury knowledge.
The corporate’s “Section II: Bitcoin Platform” doc outlines a multi-year funding technique for continued accumulation.
Metaplanet’s US income subsidiary and month-to-month buy notifications point out programmatic execution quite than opportunistic purchases.
Tokyo-listed gaming big Nexon acquired 1,717 BTC on April 28, 2021 at a mean value of $58,226 per BTC. Reviews on the time mentioned the acquisition proved to be a monetary diversification.
Nexon has maintained this place ever since, offering a secure baseline for the Japanese company sector.
South Korea entered the problem in late 2025. BitPlanet (previously SGA Options) introduced the primary regulated entity buy of roughly 93 BTC in Bitcoin below South Korean supervised infrastructure between October twenty sixth and twenty seventh.
The corporate is publicly focusing on 10,000 BTC via a rules-based each day buy program. Pending DART’s software for Tier A reliability, media protection in partnership with corporations will set up the existence and scale of this system.
Hong Kong’s Meitu gives a counterexample. In keeping with the corporate’s announcement, the sweetness app firm bought BTC and ETH in 2021, however utterly disposed of each by December 4, 2024.
Meitu’s exit highlights the distinction between an preliminary experiment and an ongoing monetary program.
Liquidity calculation: provide absorption
Metaplanet’s internet addition in 2025 alone totals 28,723 BTC, which is the distinction between September’s 30,823 BTC and February’s 2,100 BTC. At an issuance price of roughly 450 BTC per day after the halving, that one firm has absorbed roughly 64 days price of recent provide.
The rise in Metaplanet’s quantity till October thirtieth is equal to about 20% of the quantity issued because the starting of the 12 months, and the quantity issued throughout the identical interval is equal to about 136,000 BTC. That is earlier than BitPlanet’s rise in the direction of 10,000 BTC and different Asian mid-cap shares that will announce applications are counted.
The demand for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) gives a context for comparability. In keeping with CoinShares’ weekly ETP move report, the week ending October 4th noticed inflows of $3.55 billion, and the week ending October twenty seventh noticed inflows of $921 million.
At Bitcoin costs throughout these intervals, weekly inflows translated into tens of 1000’s of BTC. Relying on the execution value, this might equate to round 29,600 BTC within the week ending October 4th alone.
Metaplanet’s 28,700 BTC year-to-date is on par with a powerful ETF week, however there’s one key distinction. Which means an organization’s monetary program is everlasting, rules-based, and never sentiment-based.
If company shopping for coincides with ETF demand, the impact of tightening free float will additional enhance. Issuing 450 BTC per day is equal to 13,500 BTC per 30 days.
If Metaplanet’s tempo of averaging round 3,500 BTC per 30 days from February to September is maintained, and BitPlanet expands in the direction of its 10,000 BTC goal in 12 to 18 months, Asians may soak up 20-30% of the month-to-month issuance earlier than factoring in US mid-cap shares following coverage readability.
This doesn’t completely take away the coin from circulation, however it does transfer the coin from the miner’s operational pockets and into the treasury of an organization with a multi-year holding interval.
Threat: Accounting, Custody, Governance
Accounting and auditing verification is wide-ranging. Though Metaplanet incessantly points notices, it doesn’t absolutely disclose its value base or storage preparations in public paperwork.
Common prices had been disclosed for Nexon’s 2021 acquisitions, however updates have been sparse since then.
BitPlanet’s program operates below South Korea’s supervised framework, however the full DART software has not but been made public.
Traders counting on these disclosures face info asymmetries relating to pockets authentication, custodial counterparties, and the exact execution of purchases.
Governance centralization is actual. Metaplanet’s transformation right into a Bitcoin vault represents a strategic wager led by its founders, quite than the consensus of its board of administrators.
This system might be canceled if administration adjustments or shareholder strain will increase.
Meitu’s 2024 disposal reveals that company holders can exit as quickly as they enter, particularly if cryptocurrencies develop into governance liabilities quite than property.
Storage dangers range by jurisdiction. The regulatory framework for digital asset custody in Japan is maturing however nonetheless much less established than that for certified custodians in the USA.
South Korea’s surveillance infrastructure for BitPlanet will improve surveillance, but additionally introduce dependence on regulation. BitPlanet’s program may face disruption if South Korea’s crypto coverage adjustments.
Coverage shocks stay a wild card. A crackdown by U.S. regulators on company Bitcoin holdings, though unlikely, may have a ripple impact throughout listed Asian corporations with a U.S. investor base.
Adjustments within the tax system in Japan or South Korea can change the economics of nationwide treasury accumulation. Adjustments in accounting requirements that drive mark-to-market therapy quite than simply impairment may deter CFOs from including risky property to their steadiness sheets.
Waiting for 2026, monitoring Metaplanet’s financing execution for its “Section II” targets will doubtless be one thing analysts might be watching intently.
The corporate’s mannequin depends on continued entry to the inventory or debt markets to finance purchases.
When capital turns into costly or markets shut, the tempo of accumulation slows. Month-to-month “buy extra” notifications allow you to see program momentum in actual time.
BitPlanet’s DART submitting will affirm whether or not the ten,000 BTC objective is accepted and funded by the board of administrators, or whether it is formidable.
Disclosure of precise each day buy volumes and monitoring adjustments to the rules-based program construction may even be essential matters to observe. South Korea’s supervised framework means this system might be accelerated or restricted by regulatory updates.
Evaluating month-to-month internet ETF inflows and issuance band of 450 BTC per day for this cohort comes subsequent.
If Asian mid-cap shares added a mixed 5,000-10,000 BTC per 30 days in 2026, this could symbolize 11-22% of recent provide and, mixed with ETF demand, would have a major tightening impact.
As seen with Meitu, the idea weakens when the tempo slows or different corporations exit.
Put up-policy US mid-cap readability represents the following frontier.
U.S. corporations with market capitalizations of $500 million to $5 billion may comply with MetaPlanet’s technique if the SEC gives clearer accounting and custody steering.
If that occurs, the narrative will shift from “Asia’s mid-cap shares” to “World Company Bonds 2.0,” which is able to impact the tightening of free float, which dwarfs present ranges.
The strategic query is whether or not company finance applications develop into a everlasting structural bid or a cyclical phenomenon.
Metaplanet and BitPlanet are testing whether or not midsize corporations can implement MicroStrategy’s mannequin on a smaller scale with board self-discipline and clear disclosure.
In the event that they succeed, the following halving in 2028 is not going to solely face a decline in ETF demand and issuance, but additionally a world cohort of company bonds that can programmatically soak up new provide.
If there are any stumbles alongside the way in which, equivalent to governance reversals, custody failures, or coverage shocks, the idea that corporations can successfully tighten their free float will crumble, and Bitcoin value discovery will revert to ETF flows and particular person hypothesis.
The query is whether or not company steadiness sheets will develop into the third pillar of the Bitcoin demand construction, or whether or not it should stay a distinct segment technique restricted to some principled administration groups.
