Metaplanet’s total stash of 6,796 BTC is now worth about $707 million. The company aggressively expanded its Bitcoin portfolio since April of 2024, including a massive 5,555 BTC purchase earlier this month. With a new average purchase price of approximately $91,000 per coin, Metaplanet is now ranked 10th globally among BTC holders.
Meanwhile, El Salvador continues to defy the International Monetary Fund’s pressure by quietly growing its own Bitcoin reserves, despite conditions tied to a $1.4 billion loan agreement. President Nayib Bukele also still holds firm that the country's Bitcoin buying will continue. Adding to the bullish sentiment, Robert Kiyosaki recently reiterated his support for Bitcoin, gold, and silver as “honest money” alternatives to fiat currency, and warned against the dangers of centralized financial systems.
Metaplanet Becomes Largest Bitcoin Holder in Asia
Japanese investment firm Metaplanet surpassed El Salvador in Bitcoin holdings after acquiring an additional 1,241 BTC. This brings its total stash to 6,796 Bitcoin worth approximately $707 million.
The firm announced on May 12 that it bought the latest batch at 14.8 million yen per coin, or roughly $101,843. This is the highest average purchase price in its accumulation history. Metaplanet's strategic Bitcoin buying began in April of 2024, and its average purchase price now sits around $91,000 per BTC. El Salvador is a leading nation-state holder of Bitcoin, and currently holds 6,714 BTC valued at about $642 million, placing it just behind Metaplanet.
CEO Simon Gerovich celebrated the milestone on X by stating, “Metaplanet now holds more Bitcoin than El Salvador. From humble beginnings to rivaling nation-states, we’re just getting started.” The Tokyo-listed firm also reported a Bitcoin Yield 38% for the current quarter and 95.6% for Q1 2025. This is a metric assessing the percentage change in Bitcoin holdings per fully diluted share.
The company has been aggressively accumulating Bitcoin over the past few months, which included a staggering 5,555 BTC purchase on May 7. It also bought over 37,000 BTC in March and April combined.
According to BiTBO, Metaplanet is now the largest Bitcoin holder in Asia and ranks tenth globally. Meanwhile, Michael Saylor of Strategy hinted at yet another potential Bitcoin acquisition by his firm on May 12.
In a cryptic X post, Saylor shared a chart from the “Saylor Tracker” showing his company’s holdings, accompanied by the message, “Connect the dots.” Strategy currently holds 555,450 BTC, worth an estimated $57.8 billion.
El Salvador Defies IMF with More Bitcoin Buys
El Salvador is also still defying pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by steadily increasing its national Bitcoin reserves, despite an agreement that was expected to curtail these activities. Over the past week, the government added seven more Bitcoin to its holdings, bringing the country’s total to 6,173 BTC, valued at more than $637 million.
El Salvador Bitcoin holdings (Source: Bitcoin Office)
This ongoing accumulation happened in direct contradiction to the terms of a $1.4 billion loan agreement that was signed with the IMF in December of 2024. The agreement stipulated that El Salvador must stop using public funds to buy Bitcoin and scale back its broader BTC acquisition strategy.
Despite the agreement, which also required El Salvador to repeal its Bitcoin legal tender law and privatize the state-run Chivo Wallet, the country did not slow down its BTC purchases. In January 2025, lawmakers repealed the legal tender law with a 55-2 congressional vote, making Bitcoin payments voluntary.
However, this policy shift had very little practical effect on the government's enthusiasm for acquiring Bitcoin. The El Salvador Bitcoin Office continues to operate with transparency by publicly reporting purchases. This signals that the country is still very committed to its long-term crypto strategy.
President Nayib Bukele took a firm stance against the IMF’s repeated calls to halt Bitcoin purchases. In a post on X dated March 4, Bukele reaffirmed his administration's position by stating that the buying will continue regardless of international pressure. "No, it’s not stopping. If it didn’t stop when the world ostracized us and most 'Bitcoiners' abandoned us, it won’t stop now, and it won’t stop in the future," Bukele wrote.
This defiance attracted both criticism and admiration from global observers, especially as El Salvador became a case study in how sovereign nations might integrate Bitcoin into their fiscal and monetary policies. Despite IMF objections, the country's Bitcoin strategy could serve as a model for other governments considering similar paths.
Kiyosaki Backs Bitcoin as the Future of Wealth
Robert Kiyosaki, the renowned entrepreneur and author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, once again voiced his disapproval of centralized monetary systems, and called on Americans to reject fiat currency and embrace decentralized assets like Bitcoin, gold, and silver.
In a post on X, Kiyosaki agreed with the views of former US Congressman Ron Paul, who has long criticized the Federal Reserve and advocated for its abolition. Paul likened interest rate manipulation by central banks to “price fixing,” and compared it to socialist and Marxist economic practices that, in his view, strip individuals of their economic freedom and wealth.
Kiyosaki took Paul’s warning a step further by stating that centralized monetary policies breed dishonesty and corruption across all levels of society. “Fake money leads to dishonest money, dishonest statistics, dishonest accounting, dishonest balance sheets, dishonest compensation, dishonest relations, dishonest leaders, and corruption in everyday life,” he wrote. According to Kiyosaki, the only way to push back against such systemic dysfunction is for people to opt out of fiat systems entirely and instead adopt what he describes as honest, decentralized stores of value.
Kiyosaki is a long-time critic of the US dollar, and believes fiat currency is being deliberately devalued through reckless government spending and Federal Reserve policies. He sees assets like Bitcoin and precious metals as key tools for preserving personal wealth and maintaining economic sovereignty. By drawing from Austrian economic theory, he encourages people to work toward their own “gold, silver, and Bitcoin standard” as a safeguard against inflation and systemic financial manipulation.
In an earlier statement on April 18, Kiyosaki predicted that Bitcoin could surpass $1 million by 2035, while gold and silver could rise to $30,000 and $3,000 per coin respectively. His bullish sentiment is also shared by other high-profile figures in the financial world.
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood suggested that Bitcoin could reach $1.5 million by 2030, and Eric Trump recently endorsed the $1 million Bitcoin thesis during a keynote at the Bitcoin MENA conference in Abu Dhabi.
Eric Trump at the MENA conference in Abu Dhabi
