Bitcoin Buying Spree: UK Football Club and Japanese Metaplanet Load up on BTC
- Real Bedford FC has added more Bitcoin to its treasury as more sports clubs become crypto-friendly
- Metaplanet, an investment firm in Japan, has simultaneously purchased over 20.38 BTC as part of its one billion yen purchase plans.
- Metaplanet and Real Bedford now hold 245.99 and 82.7 BTC, respectively.
UK-based football club Real Bedford FC is expanding its crypto portfolio, acquiring 66.8 BTC for US$4.5M (AU$6.77M). The club —renowned for its pro-crypto stance and backed by the Winklevoss twins— now owns 82.7 BTC, around US$5.57M (or AU$8.39M).
Real Bedford FC Holds BTC for Stability and Growth
At least 15.8 BTC is held as floating shares (meaning shares available for trade or operational purposes), while the rest is kept in the treasury. This is according to Peter McCormack, the club’s chairman, who announced the news on X.
The post on X garnered over 56K views after being announced, and the crypto community received it as a positive move that might set the standard for how sports clubs globally manage their treasury by exploring new financial assets or diversifying their portfolios.
McCormack hinted at how Real Bedford has understood that cryptocurrencies can be used to provide financial incentives, stability, and growth. “Football still doesn’t understand this”, the chairman said, quoting MicroStrategy’s Chairman Michael Saylor, who showcased how BTC has outperformed every other asset and indices in the market.
Real Bedford, self-proclaimed Bitcoin football team, is part of a rising trend in sports clubs using crypto either as a financial or operational asset. Other renowned football teams have secured multi-year partnerships with prominent crypto companies, like FC Bayern Munich with Bitpanda and AC Milan with BitMex.
Related: Bitcoin Retail Demand Hits 3-Year Low as BTC Struggles to Hold Over $64K
Metaplanet Joins In
If you haven’t heard of Metaplanet, don’t worry; it’s been flying under the radar for many investors. But in essence, it’s the Japanese version of MicroStrategy (and one of the top-performing companies in the country).
Metaplanet saw its share price surge by 7x after announcing Bitcoin as one of the company’s core treasury assets, committing an initial one billion Japanese Yen (AU$9.62M).
Related: Japanese Firm Metaplanet Emulates MicroStrategy’s BTC Buying Strategy, Sees Share Price Surge 7x
The company made headlines early this week after announcing the purchase of an additional 20.38 BTC, about ¥200M, or AU$1.92M.
Shortly after the company disclosed it had bought more BTC, Metaplanet’s stock soared to over ¥180, a surge of almost 20% in the daily chart and representing a change of over 44% in the last five days.