Metaplanet buys licensed broker Siiibo for $13M to launch bitcoin yield products in Japan

Metaplanet has agreed to acquire Siiibo Securities, a licensed Type I securities firm in Japan, for 2.1 billion yen (around $13 million) as it moves to build and distribute bitcoin-linked yield products directly to local investors.

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich said on X that the company will fully acquire Siiibo, a major player in Japan's online corporate bond market, and expects the deal to close in July. Following completion, Siiibo will be renamed Metaplanet Securities and integrated into Metaplanet's broader strategy.

The acquisition is positioned as a core part of Metaplanet's "Project Nova," its long-term plan to create a bitcoin-centric financial ecosystem in Japan. "This is Metaplanet's first major acquisition and the first concrete step in Project Nova, our long-term strategy to build a Bitcoin-centric financial ecosystem in Japan," Gerovich said.

Gerovich added that bringing Siiibo's Type I registration and online securities platform in-house will let Metaplanet move beyond a treasury BTC strategy into investor-facing products. "By bringing Siiibo's Type I registration and online securities platform into the group, we will develop and distribute bitcoin-related yield products directly to Japanese investors," he said, noting that the business will be supported by Metaplanet's 40,177 BTC holdings.

Founded in 2019, Siiibo enables retail access to privately placed corporate bonds and has facilitated more than 100 bond issuances for over 40 companies, but remains loss-making, posting a net loss of 175.4 million yen last year. Metaplanet, which reported a 114.5 billion yen net loss in Q1 driven by bitcoin mark-to-market effects, is betting that Japan's shift from deflation to inflation and households' 1,140 trillion yen in cash and deposits will drive demand for yield. "Our mission is to deliver new yield-generating opportunities through a bitcoin-centric financial platform, and to build, from Japan, a financial ecosystem that unites bitcoin with traditional finance," Gerovich said.