The depreciation of the Japanese Yen grants Metaplanet a key financial advantage, making its Bitcoin financial strategy superior to Strategy's.

Against the backdrop of a generally sluggish cryptocurrency market, Japanese Metaplanet has become the fourth-largest publicly listed company worldwide in terms of Bitcoin holdings.

Analysts believe that, compared to American peers like Strategy, the company possesses a core financial advantage directly related to the structural weakness of the Yen as a pricing currency.

Analyst Adam Livingston pointed out that Japan's government debt accounts for approximately 250% of GDP. To cover massive fiscal deficits, Japan has continuously increased its money supply, which has been eroding the Yen's purchasing power.

In this macro environment, Bitcoin priced in USD has appreciated about 1159% since 2020, while the Yen-denominated value has increased by 1704% during the same period of continuous Yen depreciation. This means that Japanese companies holding Bitcoin can directly benefit from exchange rate fluctuations, gaining additional on-paper profits.

This exchange rate differential causes Metaplanet's liabilities (including coupon payments on Bitcoin purchase bonds) to be denominated and paid in Yen. However, as the Yen continues to depreciate against the USD and Bitcoin, the "real cost" of the fixed Yen interest payments decreases each year.

In contrast, the largest US Bitcoin holding company Strategy must pay bond coupons in relatively stable USD, unable to enjoy this "liability shrinkage" benefit.

After comparing the debt costs of both, it is found that Metaplanet pays a 4.9% Yen coupon, with its actual burden gradually easing as the Yen depreciates; whereas Strategy pays a 10% USD coupon, with its debt value shrinking at a much slower rate than the former.

However, this financial strategy advantage based on currency weakness has not fully translated into recognition in the capital markets. The stock price of Metaplanet remains highly synchronized with other Bitcoin holding listed companies like Strategy and BitMine, all of which have recently experienced significant declines.

This perhaps indicates that, at this stage, investors are more focused on the overall risk exposure of the crypto market itself, rather than fully considering Metaplanet's unique "Yen hedge" feature.

Overall, in the context of global macroeconomic divergence, companies operating in different fiat currency zones face markedly different financial costs and potential return structures when investing in similar crypto assets.

#Metaplanet #Financial advantage