Norwegian Central Bank Acquires Stake in Metaplanet

Highlights:

• Norwegian Central Bank, Norges Bank became one of Metaplanet’s major shareholders after purchasing 0.55% of the company’s stock.
• The purchased shares cost approximately $7 million.
• Metaplanet CEO is confident that the financial institution will invest more capital in the Japanese investment company.

Simon Gerovich, Metaplanet’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), shared a new announcement on his verified X handle, unveiling a new major shareholder for the Japanese investment firm. According to Gerovich, Norges Bank, Norway’s central bank, recently bought 0.55% of Metaplanet’s shares.

The investment implies that the Norwegian bank holds $7 million of the Japanese investment firm’s shares. It is worth noting that the Norges Bank is responsible for safekeeping Norway’s government pension funds, which invariably implies that the decision to invest in Metaplanet could be a means of diversification, with the potential of earning profits.

Moreover, the Norwegian bank boasts $1.7 trillion in assets under management (AUM), underscoring its position as a leading financial firm. Gerovich believes that the financial firm is just getting started with its investment in Metaplanet. According to him, he envisages more expansive share purchases from Norges Bank in the future.

Aside from its recently purchased shares, the Norwegian bank also boasts considerable investments in MicroStrategy’s stock. Notably, the banking giant owns approximately 0.72% of the American business intelligence platform’s share. The MicroStrategy stock is valued at about $500 million.

Norges Bank, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, now holds a 0.55% stake in Metaplanet. Norges Bank manages over $1.7 trillion in assets and also holds a 0.72% stake in MicroStrategy, valued at $500 million. Given their scale, they have the capacity to increase their… pic.twitter.com/d57AODTaKW

— Simon Gerovich (@gerovich) January 30, 2025

Norges Bank Investment Implications

The new development comes a few days after Metaplanet announced its plans to raise ¥116 billion ($745 million) for Bitcoin purchase. According to one of Crypto2Community’s old publications that captured the story, the Japanese investment company plans to raise the huge sum by issuing 21 million shares through 0% discount moving strike warrants.

As usual, every proceeds realized from the above exercise will be used exclusively for buying more Bitcoin tokens. From the explanations above, it is obvious that the method Metaplanet said it intends to raise capital for its Bitcoin purchase aligned with Norges Bank’s recent investment. Hence, one could assert that the Norwegian’s bank involvement is probably hastening the timeline to realize the specified funding.

It is worth noting that Metaplanet stated that the $745 million fundraising is at the core of its investment strategy that entails increasing its BTC holdings to about 21,000 tokens by the end of 2026. Currently, the company boasts only 1,761.98 BTC, valued at approximately $167.1 million.

Raising its holdings to the specified target might seem tricky, considering the short timeframe. However, the possibility remains plausible if the investment firm continues attracting significant shareholders who are willing to invest massively in Metaplanet.

Metaplanet Records Consistent Growth in 2025

Possibly because of the wave of positive influence stemming from Donald Trump’s assumption into office, most crypto firms, including Metaplanet, have enjoyed significant expansion since this year began. In one of his old tweets, Gerovich shared that the investment firm finally achieved a $1 billion market capitalization milestone.

Relaying the landmark achievement, the Metaplanet CEO stated: “Metaplanet’s market cap has closed above $1 billion for the first time since adopting a Bitcoin Standard.” Still, in the same tweet, he heaped praises on Bitcoin, asserting that it remains the treasury store for public companies.

Milestone Achieved: $1B Market Cap 🚀
Metaplanet’s market cap has closed above $1 billion for the first time since adopting a Bitcoin Standard.

Bitcoin is the ultimate treasury reserve asset for public companies. pic.twitter.com/1kCdYLzwLh

— Simon Gerovich (@gerovich) January 17, 2025

In an older X post, the Metaplanet CEO shared a new update informing followers about a Capital Group’s inclusion as one of the investment firm’s shareholders. Capital Group boasts about $2.3 trillion in AUM and is MicroStrategy’s third-largest investor. Gerovich said Capital Group became a 5% shareholder and ranks as the third largest investor among Metaplanet’s shareholders.

We’re thrilled to announce that Capital Group, with over $2.3T in AUM, has become a 5% shareholder of Metaplanet! Already MicroStrategy’s 2nd-largest shareholder, they are now our 3rd-largest. Honored to have their support as we drive innovation and shape the future of finance. pic.twitter.com/HU8HVu5TDf

— Simon Gerovich (@gerovich) January 10, 2025