Bitcoin Blues & Billions: What?

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Out of Tokyo came a whisper, then a shout from Metaplanet (TSE: 3350), a company that makes a business of holding Bitcoin. On the 26th of January, they admitted to losing a heap of yen-¥104.6 billion, to be precise, which in American money is a cool $678 million vanished on paper. A loss, mind you, but don’t you fret, they said they’d still be makin’ a profit.

It’s a funny thing, this business. Folks lookin’ at it sideways, callin’ it fool’s gold all through late ‘25. A real test, they say, to see if this whole “Digital Asset Treasury” idea is somethin’ solid or just air.

A Paper Clip Loss, They Claim

Now, they want you to understand, this loss ain’t real real. It’s just numbers shiftin’ on a page, a bookkeeping trick called an “impairment.” Price went down, numbers went down. Simple as that. Doesn’t mean they’re short a dime, they tell ya. Still, it led to a net loss of ¥76.6 billion ($497 million) which is a mighty big “oops,” even for paper losses.

They figure they’ll bring in ¥8.9 billion ($57.7 million) this year, which is a bit more than they thought before. Operatin’ profit? Up 33.8% to ¥6.29 billion ($40.8 million). Seems like makin’ money with the Bitcoin is workin’ better than just holdin’ it.

And the yen… well, the yen went south, which gave ‘em a ¥22.6 billion ($147 million) boost. Ain’t that always the way? One hand takes, the other gives…

Metaplanet FY25 guidance:
– ¥8.9B (~$57.7M) revenue
– ¥6.3B (~$40.8M) operating profit
FY26 outlook:
– ¥16B (~$103.7M) revenue (+80%)
– ¥11.4B (~$73.9M) operating profit (+81%)

Full earnings on February 16.

– Dylan LeClair (@DylanLeClair) January 27, 2026

Dylan LeClair, the fella who tells ‘em what to do with the Bitcoin, says it’s all lookin’ peachy. “Strong momentum,” he calls it. And they got a whole lot more Bitcoin now-35,102 coins, to be exact. That’s a jump from just 1,762 last year. Seems they’re buyin’ the dip, or somethin’.

Twenty Times the Bitcoin, You Say?

From a few coins to a mountain of ‘em. They call it ‘BTC Yield’ and it’s climbed to 568% this year. They even figured out ways to borrow money to buy more Bitcoin. Seems sensible… or maybe not.

A Wobbly Foundation

Now, this whole plan of just holdin’ digital gold ain’t been sittin’ well with everybody. Back in October, the value of the company dipped below the value of their Bitcoin. Folks started to wonder if it was all just a big bubble. Some fellas called it “financial gibberish,” and others worried it was lookin’ a lot like the crazy schemes they had back in the twenties. They gone from eight times their Bitcoin value to… well, a lot less.

Expectin’ More Next Year (They Hope)

They’re hopin’ for ¥16 billion ($104 million) in revenue next year, and ¥11.4 billion ($74 million) in profit. That’s a big jump. They reckon this “Bitcoin Income Generation” thing is the key, makin’ money from the Bitcoin, not just waitin’ for it to go up. But they won’t tell ya what the actual profit will be, ‘cause tryin’ to guess what Bitcoin will do is like tryin’ to nail jelly to a tree.

We’ll find out the full story on February 16th, and maybe then we’ll understand if this whole thing is a stroke of genius, or just another ripple in the ocean.

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2026-01-27 07:16