Japan-based investment firm Metaplanet and the government of El Salvador both increased their Bitcoin holdings shortly before a market downturn on February 25. The price drop saw Bitcoin fall nearly 5% over 10 hours, dipping below $91,000 before recovering slightly to $92,260.
Metaplanet announced it had purchased 135 Bitcoin for approximately $13 million, paying an average price of $96,185 per coin. This latest acquisition brings Metaplanet’s total Bitcoin holdings to 2,225 BTC, now valued at over $205 million based on current prices.
Since adopting Bitcoin as a treasury asset in April, Metaplanet has achieved a 12.7% gain on its investment. The company’s average purchase price across all its Bitcoin holdings stands at $81,834 per coin. Led by CEO Simon Gerovich, the firm also reported a quarterly increase of 23.3% in its “BTC Yield,” moving closer to its target of 35% for the first quarter of 2025.
According to data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET, Metaplanet now ranks as the 14th largest corporate Bitcoin holder in the world. Despite the size of this purchase, the company’s share price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TYO: 3350) remained largely unchanged, falling just 0.16% to 6,130 Japanese yen ($41.06) after the announcement was made public.
Metaplanet has acquired 135 BTC for ~$13 million at ~$96,185 per bitcoin and has achieved BTC Yield of 23.2% YTD 2025. As of 2/25/2025, we hold 2235 $BTC acquired for ~$182.9 million at ~81,834 per bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/IxCCvR0zWC
— Simon Gerovich (@gerovich) February 25, 2025
Around the same time as Metaplanet’s purchase, El Salvador acquired 7 Bitcoin, paying roughly $94,050 per coin according to the country’s National Bitcoin Office. This purchase was larger than El Salvador’s usual strategy of buying one Bitcoin per day, a practice the country began in November 2022.
The latest acquisition brings El Salvador’s total Bitcoin reserves to 6,088 BTC, worth approximately $560.7 million at current market prices. This purchase came after a one-week pause in the country’s daily buying strategy, which had been temporarily halted since February 18.
El Salvador’s continued investment in Bitcoin comes while the country is in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a $1.4 billion financial deal. As part of this agreement, the government has agreed to modify several Bitcoin-related policies, including removing the requirement for merchants to accept Bitcoin as payment.
The 40-month Extended Fund Facility deal with the IMF is expected to attract over $3.5 billion in additional financial support throughout the program period. Despite these policy adjustments, El Salvador’s latest purchase demonstrates its ongoing commitment to Bitcoin as a reserve asset.
The broader crypto market also experienced turbulence around the same time. Data from Farside Investors and HODL15Capital shows that eight spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from seven different issuers saw combined outflows of $357.8 million on February 24.
Bitcoin ETFs Face Outflows Amid Market Shift
The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund was most affected, with $247 million in withdrawals. The BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust also recorded substantial outflows of $159 million during this period of market volatility.
The market downturn coincided with former U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he plans to impose a 25% tax on imports from Canada and Mexico. Following this news, Bitcoin experienced a flash drop that triggered over $950 million in leveraged liquidations across various crypto platforms.
Despite the price dip and market uncertainty, there are signs of increasing institutional interest in Bitcoin. Several U.S. states, including Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Texas, have introduced bills that could enable them to hold Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as reserve assets.
In Ohio specifically, lawmakers have introduced House Bill 116, which aims to prevent the state from imposing additional taxes on digital assets when they are used for payments. This legislation represents a growing trend of state-level interest in cryptocurrency adoption and regulation.
Market sentiment for Bitcoin has reached its lowest level in over five months following these events. However, both Metaplanet and El Salvador appear to be taking a long-term view of their Bitcoin investments, continuing to accumulate during price dips.
El Salvador has made several large Bitcoin purchases outside of its daily acquisition strategy. In December, following the announcement of the IMF financing deal, the country added $1 million worth of Bitcoin to its strategic reserves in a single purchase. On February 4, it acquired 11 Bitcoin valued at over $1 million.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin is trading at around $92,000, representing a 4% decrease in value over the past 24 hours according to data from CoinGecko.
