On August 12, the on-chain analysis account Lookonchain detected that a wallet associated with Japanese publicly traded company Metaplanet transferred 3,881 bitcoins, equivalent to approximately $247.3 million at the prevailing price. The transfer drew attention, but the company has not issued any announcement regarding a sale as of now.
The company has not yet disclosed the sale.
Company disclosures show that Metaplanet reported holding 43,000 bitcoins in July. Based on this figure, the amount transferred represents approximately 9% of its disclosed holdings. However, a simple wallet transfer does not directly prove that the company has sold the assets; whether an actual disposal occurred depends on the receiving address and subsequent movements.
As of the report, Metaplanet’s public disclosure page did not feature any announcement regarding the sale of Bitcoin on August 12. The report also noted that Hut 8 transferred 493 Bitcoin, approximately $31.36 million, during a similar period, but likewise provided no disclosure related to a sale.
Positional pressure remains.
Lookonchain estimates that Metaplanet’s holdings of 43,000 bitcoins were acquired at an average price of approximately $96,191. Based on the current bitcoin price of around $63,600 mentioned in the article, this position represents an unrealized paper loss of nearly $1.4 billion.
Please note that this figure is derived from a dollar-based estimate by on-chain analytics providers and is not the company’s most recently disclosed loss data. The unrealized loss will only be realized as an actual loss once the associated bitcoins are actually sold.
The use of funds remains to be seen.
Bitcoin held by corporations can be transferred across various scenarios, including transfers between custodians, adjustments to cold wallets, movements to trading accounts, or use as collateral for financing. Metaplanet has previously used Bitcoin to support financing; therefore, a single large transfer alone is insufficient to indicate a reduction in holdings.
The report also noted that Metaplanet is expanding its business around its Bitcoin holdings, including collaborating with JPYC to explore Bitcoin-backed credit products and extending into securities business following the acquisition of Siiibo Securities. This suggests that the associated Bitcoin may also be used for financing or other treasury arrangements in the future.
Additional information: In March this year, on-chain trackers also detected Metaplanet transferring 4,986 bitcoins, with the assets reportedly moved to a new wallet, though no clear evidence of sale was found. As of this report, the only confirmed fact is that 3,881 bitcoins have left the wallet attributed to Metaplanet.