Bitcoin companies are learning that holding forever takes cash

Applying that average purchase price to the 10,000 coins replaced produces a price difference of about ¥11.57 billion, before transaction costs and potential tax effects. That gives shareholders an expensive receipt for the demonstration.

The company didn't use the proceeds to repay borrowings or bonds, and it ended September with 44,000 $BTC. Selling was part of an effort to improve the financing behind continued accumulation.

That brings us to the strange relationship underlying the corporate Bitcoin trade. Shareholders are usually happy to wait years for a higher price, but lenders have contracts that specify when they want their money back. The same reserve has to satisfy both groups.

Lenders would like their money back in dollars

A company that owns an asset as liquid as Bitcoin isn't quite the same as a company having cash available to pay a bill. Coins may be pledged against borrowing, or management may be unwilling to sell at the available price.

Either way, creditors need to know what happens when the payment date and the preferred selling price don't cooperate.

Metaplanet's June financial statement reported ¥67.49 billion in short-term borrowings and ¥8 billion in bonds payable within a year, against ¥1.09 billion in cash and deposits and ¥250 million in $USDC.