Metaplanet green lights Bitcoin digital credit study with JPYC, Progmat

Metaplanet (TYO: 3350), Japan’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, has started a joint study with three partners into Bitcoin-backed credit instruments.

The Bitcoin treasury company made this known via its X account, releasing a “Notice of Commencement of a Joint Study in the Digital Credit Domain Utilizing $BTC, $JPYC, and Security Tokens.” 

The study groups Metaplanet with its brokerage arm Metaplanet Securities, yen-stablecoin issuer JPYC, and digital securities platform Progmat. Progmat published its own release on the collaboration the same day. 

The four entities are examining how Bitcoin (BTC), the JPYC stablecoin, and security tokens could combine into a blockchain-based system for issuing and managing credit products such as corporate bonds.

What would the study model do?

Each asset plays a unique role in the proposed structure, with Bitcoin sitting as collateral or a reserve asset. JPYC, a token pegged one-to-one to the Japanese yen, handles settlement and payments. Security tokens carry fractional claims on debt instruments like corporate bonds.

Dylan LeClair, who is the managing director of Bitcoin Strategy at Metaplanet, wrote about the partnership on X, stating that the group has “commenced a joint study regarding BTC-backed digital credit instruments capable of supporting 24/7/365 trading and daily prorated interest accrual.”

.@Metaplanet, Metaplanet Securities, @jpyc_official, and @progmat_en have commenced a joint study regarding BTC backed digital credit instruments capable of supporting 24/7/365 trading and daily prorated interest accrual. $BTC https://t.co/0bjH4kq4o7

— Dylan LeClair (@DylanLeClair) July 10, 2026

For now, this is a study with the four firms trying to examine feasibility, and none has published a timeline, a product, or a target size.

Why is Metaplanet carrying out this study? 

Metaplanet is the third-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, only behind Strategy and Twenty One Capital, as it holds 43,000 BTC as of July 7, worth about $2.8 billion, according to BitcoinTreasuries.net.  

Metaplanet has bought Bitcoin steadily since 2023, a move that mirrors the treasury playbook Michael Saylor built at Strategy.

Its balance sheet is a major reason a credit business is even on the table. A company sitting on billions in Bitcoin can, in theory, use those reserves to back or collateralize lending as opposed to selling them.

In March, Metaplanet’s CEO, Simon Gerovich, announced two subsidiaries, Metaplanet Ventures and a Miami-based Metaplanet Asset Management unit focused on digital credit and Bitcoin capital markets. 

The venture arm also committed 400 million yen (about $2.5 million) to JPYC’s Series B round. JPYC issues its yen stablecoin against bank deposits and government bonds and runs on Ethereum, Avalanche, and Polygon. The new joint study puts that earlier JPYC investment to work.

Which Strategy template is Metaplanet following?

Metaplanet is not inventing the category. Strategy, which rebranded from MicroStrategy, has raised and continues to raise billions this year through equity, convertible debt, and preferred stock. Strategy also unveiled a Digital Credit Capital Framework on June 29. Strategy’s digital credit assets have grown from zero to around $14 billion in 15 months.

Saylor wrote on X on July 9, “Digital Credit is transparent because the principal market risk factor is Bitcoin, an observable, homogeneous asset.”

However, these instruments are leveraged bets on one volatile asset. If Bitcoin falls hard, collateral values shrink while obligations stay fixed, a pressure Strategy critics have flagged.

It is still unknown if Metaplanet’s study will conclude that a yen-denominated version clears Japan’s regulatory bar, but observers, especially investors, will be watching out for the study’s findings and any move from research to product.

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