Both Metaplanet and El Salvador augmented their Bitcoin reserves just before the market downturn on February 25, during which Bitcoin saw a drop of up to 5% within a span of 10 hours.
Metaplanet confirmed it acquired 135 Bitcoin (BTC) for $13 million at an approximate price of $96,185, while the Bitcoin-holding nation of El Salvador bought 7 Bitcoin on February 24, coinciding with Bitcoin trading at about $94,050.
These investments occurred just prior to Bitcoin’s decline beneath $91,000 in the early morning of February 25.
Since then, Bitcoin has made a recovery to $92,260, although the overall sentiment in the crypto market has sunk to its lowest point in over five months.
The Japan-based firm’s latest acquisition increases its total Bitcoin holdings to 2,225 Bitcoin, valued at over $205 million.
With an average purchase price of $81,834, the Simon Gerovich-led company is currently experiencing a gain of around 12.7% on its Bitcoin investment since April, when the firm first declared its intention to treat Bitcoin as a treasury asset.
Moreover, Metaplanet highlighted that its “BTC Yield” — the percentage variation period-to-period between the company’s Bitcoin holdings and its diluted shares — has risen by 23.3% this quarter, positioning it towards achieving its 35% quarterly target for Q1.
Source: Simon Gerovich
According to data from BitBo’s BitcoinTreasuries.NET, Metaplanet currently ranks as the 14th largest corporate Bitcoin holder in the world.
However, the latest acquisition did not lead to an increase in Metaplanet’s (TYO: 3350) stock price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which has decreased by 0.16% to 6,130 Japanese yen ($41.06) since the announcement was made during the lunch break on February 25, as per Google Finance data.
El Salvador adds another 7 Bitcoin to its reserve
On the other hand, El Salvador’s latest Bitcoin purchase was six more than its typical acquisition of one Bitcoin per day, as reported by the El Salvador National Bitcoin Office.
This purchase took place about an hour before Trump affirmed that America’s strategy to implement a 25% tax on imports from Canada and Mexico is still “on schedule,” which triggered a drop in crypto markets shortly thereafter.
The latest acquisition brings El Salvador’s total Bitcoin holdings to 6,088 Bitcoin, valued at $560.7 million at current market prices.
Change in El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings since Jan. 29. Source: El Salvador National Bitcoin Office
El Salvador’s ongoing investment in Bitcoin comes as it has agreed to revise several Bitcoin policies as part of a $1.4 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
One of the stipulations includes refraining from mandating that merchants accept Bitcoin as a mode of payment.
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In the meantime, at least eight spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds from seven issuers experienced outflows on February 24 — amounting to a total of $357.8 million, according to data from Farside Investors.
The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund faced the largest outflow, totaling $247 million, while the BlackRock-issued iShares Bitcoin Trust saw outflows of $159 million, based on preliminary data from HODL15Capital.
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