Japan is sitting $14.9 trillion In domestic financial assets, its bond markets offer some of the lowest returns in developed countries. 10 years of Japanese government bonds are just harvested ~1%and corporate bonds often have a hard time clearing 2%. For decades, pension funds, insurance companies and banks have been locked in low-turn allocations simply because they had no compliant and familiar options.

Metaplanet’s second quarter earnings announcement aims directly at this gap. The company announced:

• “Metaplanet is Plays” – A Bitcoin Support Preferred Stock Program designed to expand the operations of the Bitcoin Ministry of Finance.
• Plans to build a yield curve for Bitcoin support Japanese bond market.

In markets that even “high yields” mean low single digits, 7-12% are provided with well-structured Bitcoin-assisted preferred stocks to provide serious attention and serious capital.

Record Q2 Growth Fuel Bitcoin Support Priority Share Strategy

Metaplanet’s second quarter not only unveiled a new funding model, but also provided one of the most powerful quarters in the company’s history. Both revenue and profitability have skyrocketed, but assets and net assets have increased, highlighting the size currently operating.

Metaplanet Q2 Revenue Results:

• Revenue: ¥1.239B ($84 million) +41%
• Gross profit: ¥816m ($5.5 million) +38%
• Normal benefits: ¥17.4b ($117.8m) vs ¥6.9b
• Net profit: ¥11.1.B ($75.1M) vs ¥5.0B
• assets: ¥238.2b ($1.61b) +333%
• Net worth: ¥201.0b ($13.6 billion) + 299%

This surge in financial performance will strengthen Metaplanet’s reliability with investors and use its momentum to deploy Bitcoin-backed preferred stocks on a large scale to gain shares in Japan’s vast but yielding bond market.

BTC-backed priority equity: How Metaplanet Play Works

Preferred shares are between obligations and common stock in the company’s capital structure. Provides dividend priorities, higher liquidation claims and predictable payments.

Metaplanet Bitcoin-backed preferred stocks It is designed as follows:

• It offers significantly higher yields than JGB, while retaining a format familiar to Japanese institutions.
• Avoid refinancing risks related to the maturity of your obligation.
• Diversify funding sources for BTC accumulation beyond the issuance of Common Equity.

Precedent: Multiclass stack of strategies

Strategy (previous micro-strategy) It already shows what is possible. The company has built a stack of Bitcoin-backed priority equity classes.

• A low volatility, income-focused class for conservative buyers.
• Convertible priority combining bonds and BTC upside down.
• A high yield class aimed at risk-resistant investors.

By matching each issue to market demand, the strategy has raised billions and has increased its Bitcoin holdings more than 500,000 BTC– Without relying solely on general stock dilution.

Metaplanet incorporates the same multi-class concept into a market where preferred stock issuance is rare, investor bases are yielded, and Bitcoin-backed preferred stocks can see rapid adoption.

Japan’s capital market: $14.9 trillion opportunities

Japan’s bond market faces decades of zero yields, with fewer options to generate income, leaving trillions in capital. This rarity makes it uniquely prepared for high-yield devices like Bitcoin-backed preferred stocks.

Japan’s household financial assets collapse as follows:

• $9.5 trillion Bonds
• $6.8 trillion In stocks
• $7.6 trillion Cash and deposits

The preferred stock market listed is exactly what $2.7 billion– Less than 0.02% of total financial assets. However, the demand for stable, revenue-oriented products is immeasurable.

The gaps are as follows: 8% Offer 8x 10-year JGB return and 4x most luxury corporate bonds return. In a familiar structure that complies with regulations, its spread can attract both domestic institutions and retail allocators looking for yields without leaving the bond universe.

Engineering Bitcoin Support Yield Curve

Metaplanet plans to issue multiple classes of Bitcoin Support Priority Shares.

• Short-term variable dividends forever It is pinned in a short-term JGB spread for conservative buyers.
• Medium Duration Variable Dividend Permanent As a medium-distance corporate credit alternative.
• Senior fixed dividend perpetual (Class A) For long-term portfolios focused on stability.
• Fixed dividend convertible (Class B) Combine predictable revenue with BTC’s upside potential.
• High yield fixed dividends forever For investors willing to take on more risk in exchange for higher returns.

This is not just a product lineup, it is a construction of an investable BTC-backed yield curve. Strategies built in the US. Metaplanet does the same thing in Japan, but with the added tailwind of the market, the yield is desperate.

Impact on corporate Bitcoin strategies

Metaplanet’s approach offers corporate strategists three distinct takeaways.

• Capital efficiency: Bitcoin-backed preferred stocks acquire capital that acquires yield capital to the Ministry of Finance without relying on a common stock. They provide permanent capital without the same maturity constraint as debt.
• Market Compliance: The strategy was successful in the US, where convertible debt and equity rise, as their markets are deeply and liquid. The norms of Japan’s capital structure are different, with Metaplanet adapting its playbook to local investor behavior. This is an important step in hiring.
• Justification of Bitcoin as collateral: With each Bitcoin-backed preferred stock issue that finds a regulated yield-hungry portfolio home, we abandon Bitcoin recognition as speculative only. Normalised in one major economy makes it easier to replicate other major economies.

The big picture: Bitcoin bond age

Metaplanet’s Q2 announcement serves as a blueprint for how Bitcoin is integrated into domestic capital markets.

By combining a proven capital structure model with one of the world’s most harvest-limiting environments, Metaplanet positions Bitcoin as the legitimate and income-generating collateral base for sovereign scale bond markets.

If they succeed, Japan’s first Bitcoin support priority sharing program will not be the last. A case study of the beginning of the Bitcoin bond age and how companies’ Bitcoin strategies evolve could mark them fit the market they enter.

Disclaimer: This content was written on behalf of Bitcoin for businesses. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as an invitation or solicitation to acquire, purchase, or subscribe to a security.

Bitcoin-focused treasury firm Strategy has introduced a new class of perpetual preferred shares, the Series A Variable Rate Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC), according to a July 21 statement.

According to the firm, it plans to issue five million STRC shares at a face value of $100 each, pending regulatory clearance and market conditions.

STRC vs Money Market Funds

STRC offers an initial annualized dividend of 9%, paid monthly and subject to board approval. While the dividend rate is variable, Strategy has capped any downward adjustment to 25 basis points per change, preserving yield stability.

This structure positions STRC as a compelling alternative to traditional money market funds, which currently offer yields of around 4.25%.

Joe Consorti, Head of Growth at Theya Bitcoin, framed the product as a deliberate play to redirect capital from traditional fixed-income vehicles into Bitcoin-backed instruments.

He stated:

“Strategy’s new variable rate preferred STRC has a 9% initial yield, and is targeting money market funds. A $7.05 trillion market, about 25% of all US Treasuries, yielding just ~4.25%.”

Beyond its high payout, STRC includes redemption mechanisms tailored for both Strategy and its investors.

The company reserves the right to redeem shares at $101 plus any unpaid dividends, while investors are granted a par-value exit in the event of a “fundamental change.” These terms offer both flexibility and downside protection, enhancing the product’s appeal in uncertain market conditions.

Strategy’s perpetual offerings

STRC extends Strategy’s growing family of Bitcoin-linked preferred securities offerings.

Earlier issues from the firm include STRK, a convertible series that pays an 8% fixed dividend and can shift into common equity under defined conditions, giving holders upside optionality alongside income.

Another is STRF, a non-convertible series structured around a 10% cumulative dividend. According to the firm, unpaid arrears would stack and must be made whole before common distributions.

Additionally, STRD, another non-convertible product, targets a 10% annual payout but does not accrue missed dividends, creating a cleaner, more flexible obligation for the issuer.

Speaking on these products, Bitcoin analyst Adrian Cercenia said:

“Strategy is building a ‘yield curve’ of products for varying risk appetites and return profiles..[The firm] is building multiple ‘pumps’ to extract fiat from pools of stagnant or otherwise trapped liquidity and transmute into bitcoin.”

According to him, the offerings allow investors who want yield plus indirect Bitcoin exposure to diversify away from conventional Treasuries, seek income that may outpace inflation, and express a view on digital assets without buying spot BTC outright.

Mentioned in this article

Wall Street financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald has closed its first Bitcoin lending deal nearly a year after announcing its crypto lending services.

According to a May 27 Bloomberg report, Cantor provided Bitcoin-backed loans to FalconX and Maple Finance. FalconX, a digital asset broker, said it secured a facility worth over $100 million as part of a “broader credit framework,” while Maple Finance reportedly closed the first tranche of an agreement with Cantor.

The service allows companies holding Bitcoin to borrow funds and use the cryptocurrency as collateral, providing a way to unlock liquidity without selling their BTC holdings. Cantor announced its Bitcoin financing business with an initial capital of $2 billion in July 2024, targeting institutional investors seeking to leverage their Bitcoin. At the time, the company said Anchorage Digital and Copper would serve as custodians and collateral managers in the venture.

Credit markets are a fundamental part of the financial system, allowing capital to flow between borrowers and lenders and supporting economic activity across sectors. Their central role also means they can contribute to financial distress when risks are mismanaged. While mirroring some functions of traditional finance, crypto credit markets have been operating with less regulatory oversight.

Digital asset crisis of 2022

This dynamic was evident during the 2022 crisis in the digital asset sector. Celsius Network, once a leading crypto lending platform, collapsed after engaging in risky financial practices and facing allegations of fraud. Similarly, BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022 following significant exposure to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.

According to a report from Galaxy, the total crypto lending market, including crypto-backed collateralized debt positions (CDPs) tied to stablecoins, stood at $36.5 billion in the last quarter of 2024, marking a 43% decline from its all-time high of $64.4 billion in 2021. Despite the broader contraction, onchain lending platforms have seen a dramatic rebound, with open borrowed positions surging to $19.1 billion by Q4 2024, a 959% increase over two years.

Cantor’s crypto arm

Cantor is one of the most traditional financial services companies in the United States. Founded in 1945, it offers a range of services for institutions, including investment banking, brokerage, equity and fixed-income sales and trading. The company claims to serve over 5,000 clients across 20 countries.

The company’s CEO, Howard Lutnick, has been an advocate for classifying Bitcoin as a commodity, akin to gold and oil, and has called for clearer regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies in the US. Lutnick was also appointed to co-lead US President Donald Trump’s transition team in 2024.

Cantor is also one of the managers of Tether’s US Treasury securities portfolio backing its stablecoin. In early 2024, the firm acquired a 5% stake in Tether.

Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom

Bitcoin holders are becoming more comfortable borrowing against their crypto as market confidence grows, according to Seamus Rocca, the CEO of the Gibraltar-based private bank Xapo Bank. 

In an interview at the Token2049 event in Dubai, Rocca told Cointelegraph that with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $95,000 and institutional adoption starting to catch on, the executive said the mood among investors shifted from short-term speculation to a more long-term outlook. 

“I’m not sure that confidence would have been there three or four years ago,” Rocca told Cointelegraph. “But today, people are more comfortable to borrow against Bitcoin because we’re nowhere near the levels that would trigger liquidation.”

On March 18, Xapo Bank launched a lending product that allows users to borrow US dollars using their Bitcoin as collateral. With the product, qualified clients can access up to $1 million in loans while keeping their BTC.

Bitcoin-backed loans are an “obvious” next step

Rocca told Cointelegraph that the growing confidence in crypto’s long-term trajectory fueled the demand for the product. This was driven by developments signaling broader institutional adoption. 

“Expectations are for institutional space coming in, the ETFs, and the mood music on Bitcoin is much more about wider adoption and long-term thinking than very short-term speculation,” Rocca said. 

He said this shift is the key to unlocking demand for borrowing against BTC, as investors feel more secure and feel that sharp price drops are less likely to happen. 

The Xapo Bank CEO said that its Bitcoin-backed loans offer loan-to-value (LTV) ratios of 20%, 30% and 40%, giving borrowers flexibility while managing risk. “If you get a 20% LTV loan and you have 100 Bitcoin, as a lot of early adopters do, that’s still a couple of million dollars you can borrow without having to sell them,” Rocca said. 

With conservative LTV levels like 20%, Bitcoin needs to fall below $40,000 for borrowers to get liquidated. “We’re nowhere near $40,000,” Rocca told Cointelegraph, pointing to the current price stability as a reason for growing borrower confidence.

Related: Blockchains ready for institutions, lawyers hesitate: DoubleZero CEO

Borrowing helps investors avoid selling in emergencies

Rocca said Bitcoin-backed loans provide a solution for holders who want to stay exposed to BTC when facing life’s unexpected expenses. “If you follow the ethos of investing, the smart thing to do would be not to sell it in three days if it goes to $100,000,” Rocca said.

“But life gets in the way,” Rocca added. He told Cointelegraph that unexpected costs, like medical bills or replacing a car, often force investors to liquidate assets at unfavorable times. Rocca said that instead of selling Bitcoin for a $10,000 expense, investors could borrow against their holdings while simply paying interest on the loan.

“You continue to have the upside potential of the price appreciation of the Bitcoin because you haven’t sold it,” he said. “But you get liquidity to pay for things that you need in everyday life.”

With institutional adoption deepening and the Bitcoin market maturing, the Xapo Bank executive is betting that more long-term holders will be ready to tap into crypto liquidity without selling their BTC. This marks a shift from just the “hodl” culture to an age where Bitcoin owners can do more with the asset. 

Magazine: 12 minutes of nail-biting tension when Ethereum’s Pectra fork goes live

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Xapo Bank is the latest in a string of financial institutions that have introduced Bitcoin-backed loans for its customers. This is yet another good indication that the world is warming towards accepting cryptocurrency as a genuine asset.

A Bitcoin-backed loan provides access to US dollars without having to sell your $BTC. This means that Xapo Bank customers can now borrow up to 40% of their $BTC collateral for a maximum loan amount of $1M.

That’s with zero fees. However, Xapo Bitcoin-backed loans are subject to eligibility and a variable interest rate that’s linked to US Federal Reserve rates. And loans aren’t available to customers who reside in the UK or Australia.

According to the bank, the loan will be accessible within a minute of being approved and can be used via debit cards, bank, or crypto transfers. There’s no set schedule for repayments nor penalties for early repayments. But loans must be repaid within the agreed-upon 30, 90, 180, or 365 days.

Is the Xapo Loan an Indication of Improved Market Sentiment?

It could well be. In fact, an HTF Market Intelligence report expects the $8.58B global Bitcoin loan market to grow at a CAGR of 26.4%. At that rate, the market will be worth $45.27B by 2029. And Xapo Bank isn’t the first institution to offer Bitcoin-backed loans.

Coinbase, for instance, introduced Bitcoin-backed loans in November 2021. Amid the 2023 market downturn, however, Coinbase stopped issuing them, citing changing customer demands.

However, around the time of $BTC’s all-time high price of $109, Coinbase reintroduced Bitcoin-backed loans. The CEX now offers $USDC loans powered by Morpho, which is an open-source lending protocol on Base – Coinbase’s Layer 2 blockchain.

Coinbase has also hinted at adding some of the best altcoins to its loan offering. However, the jury is still out on whether that would include leading meme coins.

In all, the fact that banks and exchanges are offering Bitcoin-backed loans reflects a positive market sentiment in terms of Bitcoin and a global acceptance of $BTC as a legitimate asset.

Do Bitcoin-Backed Loans Mean Using a Custodial Wallet?

Yes. You need to be a Xapo Bank customer, and that means using the company’s wallet.

In fact, this Gibraltar-based bank was established in 2013 as a custodial Bitcoin wallet. It has since evolved into a licensed digital banking group. Its wallet is still custodial, though. In other words, Xapo Bank customers’ wallets are regulated by the bank.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It means the wallet has bank-grade protection. At the end of the day, though, it’s better to have your own non-custodial wallet, like the Best Wallet app, for complete ownership of your private keys.

The exchange or bank behind a custodial wallet holds your private keys on its server, making your private keys vulnerable to data breaches, meaning your crypto could end up in the wrong hands.

Don’t forget hackers love attacking crypto banks and exchanges, as ByBit will tell you — and a recent Chainanalysis report notes that ‘Private key compromises accounted for the largest share of stolen crypto in 2024, at 44%.’

Here’s another thing to keep in mind. If you take out a Bitcoin-backed loan from Xapo Bank, you won’t be able to access the $BTC you used as collateral. It’ll be held in the bank’s Bitcoin Vault until your loan is fully repaid.

How the Best Wallet Token ($BEST) Ups the Ante

The Best Wallet app is a fully self-custodial, no KYC, multi-chain, multi-currency wallet. It’s also the only crypto wallet that lets you buy the best presale tokens. And now, in a move to capture 40% of the explosive crypto wallet market by end-2026, it has launched its native Best Wallet Token ($BEST).

Analysts forecast that the crypto wallet market will expand at a 24.8% CAGR by 2032. With the general trend leaning towards software wallets, Best Wallet plans to dominate the market. And it will use the Best Wallet Token to complete its mission.

This top non-custodial wallet seems to be well on track to reaching its target with its 50% monthly user growth rate.

The $BEST token presale is also proving highly successful. After raising $160K within 24 hours of the presale launch, the total kitty now stands at $11M+. At the moment, 1 $BEST costs just $0.0244.

But as with any investment, we urge you to DYOR. The Best Wallet Token whitepaper is a good starting point. And if you decide that $BEST is best for you, we recommend reading our full guide to buying the Best Wallet Token.

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.

REX Shares has launched the Bitcoin Corporate Treasury Convertible Bond (BMAX) ETF, designed to give investors access to convertible bonds issued by companies using debt to acquire Bitcoin.

The fund, announced on March 14, will target firms that incorporate Bitcoin into their corporate treasuries. Over recent years, publicly traded companies have increasingly turned to convertible notes to raise funds for BTC purchases.

Strategy, under executive chairman Michael Saylor, pioneered the approach, acquiring a significant portion of its 499,096 BTC holdings through convertible bond issuances. Other firms, including Metaplanet, have followed suit.

BMAX simplifies access to these bonds by packaging them into a single, actively managed ETF. The fund will focus on key issuers such as Strategy, offering a structured way for investors to gain exposure to this market.

The ETF aims to balance debt security and potential equity upside. This structure allows investors to benefit from companies leveraging BTC as part of their treasury strategy while capitalizing on the advantages of convertible bonds.

By offering a regulated investment vehicle, BMAX removes the complexity of sourcing individual bonds or managing direct BTC ownership. Investors can engage with this market in a more controlled manner without dealing with the volatility of holding Bitcoin directly.

REX Financial CEO Greg King described BMAX as the first ETF to provide access to convertible bonds tied to corporate BTC holdings.

He noted that individual investors previously faced hurdles in reaching these bonds, but BMAX eliminates those barriers, making it easier to participate in corporate strategies that use debt to acquire Bitcoin.

This ETF joins a growing list of Bitcoin-related financial products that do not require direct Bitcoin ownership. It follows recent launches of ETFs focused on Bitcoin mining stocks and treasury-backed Bitcoin investments.

The expansion of these offerings reflects Bitcoin’s increasing presence in traditional finance, highlighting investment opportunities beyond spot Bitcoin ETFs.

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