Metaplanet CEO Says Inflation and Yen Weakness Have Started Asia’s First Bitcoin Cycle

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich told the Bitcoin Asia conference that Asia has started its first Bitcoin cycle. Gerovich said the company, which began as a Japanese hotel chain, has now become a Bitcoin treasury firm. Metaplanet holds 43,000 BTC, he said, making it the largest holder in Asia and the third largest globally. He said Metaplanet buys Bitcoin with cash, then puts Bitcoin on its balance sheet and treats it as a key part of the company’s growth strategy. He described Bitcoin as "Productive Capital" and said the firm uses it to support business expansion. Gerovich added that Metaplanet is building infrastructure for what he called the "Asian Bitcoin cycle." The company has acquired a Japanese securities firm and launched a Nasdaq-listed entity called Superplanet. The goal is to let both institutions and retail investors access Bitcoin through regulated financial products, while using both Tokyo and Nasdaq as capital markets. He also said the long-term winners will not be limited to retail investors who simply accumulate assets. Firms that build custody, lending and yield products will also benefit. According to the article, Superplanet is intended to address demand for Bitcoin-backed yield products. It plans to use Metaplanet’s Bitcoin-heavy balance sheet as a base for income-generating financial tools such as preferred shares, giving investors a dollar-denominated yield option. Gerovich said Asia has a large pool of patient capital, and Japan alone has about $14 trillion in savings. He said inflation and a weaker yen are pushing some of that money out of traditional deposits and into Bitcoin. The article also says Japan is pushing a new legal framework that would place Bitcoin in a category similar to stocks and bonds, alongside plans to sharply cut taxes on investment gains. That, it said, would help create a more solid base for digital asset inflows. The piece ends by saying Asia’s first Bitcoin cycle is taking shape as capital allocation habits change, policy becomes clearer and financial infrastructure improves. As custody, lending and compliant trading channels are built out, institutions and retail investors can enter the market through regulated products.