Bakkt Seeks To Create A Leading Bitcoin Treasury Company In Japan
Founded in 1861, Marusho Hotta is one of Japan’s best-known kimono makers and textile producers. The company also operates a range of contemporary and hybrid fashion brands.
However, years of falling sales and flat trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange opened the door for the Tokyo-based RIZAP Group to take over the textile manufacturer in 2017. Following this takeover, the company’s shares continued to trade flat until this year.
New Management Will Lead Marusho Hotta’s Bitcoin Treasury Strategy
In the release, the firm confirmed that Bakkt International President Phillip Lord will be Marusho Hotta’s new CEO under its “Bitcoin Japan” rebranding. Meanwhile, Bakkt Holdings co‑CEO Akshay Naheta will assume the new role of Chairman of the Board of Directors.
The company believes that the new management would “further align the interests of directors and shareholders,” according to the release. This, the company added, will also help it “achieve a medium‑to‑long‑term improvement in corporate value.”
Metaplanet Still Leads The Charge
Marusho Hotta is the latest Asian firm to announce plans to create a Bitcoin treasury. Earlier this year, a Tokyo Exchange‑listed synthetic yarns producer called Kitabo also said it plans to buy Bitcoin as well as enter the crypto and real‑world asset (RWA) sectors. It added that it plans to buy approximately $5.4 million worth of BTC as part of its debut in the BTC treasury market.
Both Marusho Hotta and Kitabo are following the lead of Metaplanet, which is the largest corporate Bitcoin holder in Asia and is ranked as the fifth‑biggest BTC treasury globally.
Data from Bitcoin Treasuries shows that Metaplanet holds 25,555 BTC on its balance sheet.
That places Metaplanet above the Peter Thiel‑backed firm Bullish with its stockpile of 24,300 BTC, and ranks it one position under Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company with its reserves of 30,021 BTC.
Metaplanet’s latest Bitcoin acquisition was a week ago on Sept. 22. With this BTC buy, the firm added another 5,419 coins for around $632.53 million, according to the company’s CEO Simon Gerovich.
That was the largest single Bitcoin purchase in Metaplanet’s history, the CEO added. It was also the first tranche of the proceeds from the company’s public offering, and was the purchase that pushed Metaplanet into the top five list of the biggest Bitcoin treasuries globally, he said on X.
Largest single Bitcoin purchase in our history. This marks the first tranche of proceeds from our public offering, lifting Metaplanet to #5 globally in corporate Bitcoin holdings. pic.twitter.com/F6z0bQABcK
— Simon Gerovich (@gerovich) September 22, 2025
Despite being ranked in the top five list of the biggest corporate BTC holders globally, Metaplanet’s share price has tumbled in the last week. Data from Google Finance shows that the firm’s stock plummeted over 42 % in the last month. This drop continued in today’s Asia trading session, with the company’s share price falling over 1 %.
Meanwhile, BTC’s price has climbed over 3 % in the past month and more than 2 % in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.