The legal/market rails to ride
- FIEA (Financial Instruments & Exchange Act) governs securities; use it for bonds, convertibles, warrants, and security tokens.
- PSA (Payment Services Act) governs “crypto assets” (Bitcoin) and exchange/custody; trust banks may custody crypto and exchanges must segregate client assets (95% cold-wallet rule under JVCEA SRO).
- TOKYO PRO-BOND Market (TPBM) lets you list yen bonds to Professional Investors with streamlined disclosure (great for quick, repeat issuances/programs).
- Security Tokens (STO) are live in Japan on platforms like Nomura/BOOSTRY’s ibet for Fin and MUFG’s Progmat (public STO issuance >¥160bn cumulative). Use this when you want programmable coupons/collateral or global distribution optics.
The Metaplanet credit stack (from simplest to most advanced)
1) Yen
Zero-Coupon Convertible Bonds
(CBs with stock acquisition rights)
- Structure: “tenkan shasai-gata shinkabu yoyakuken-tsuki shasai” — Japan’s standard CB. Go 5–7 year tenor, 0–0.5% coupon, 30–50% conversion premium, soft call @130% VWAP. List on TPBM or sell Reg S offshore.
- Why it works: minimal cash interest, maximal BTC firepower per yen of dilution; Japanese CB precedent is deep and familiar to local accounts.
- Tactics: pair with an issuer call (after stock ≥130% for 20 out of 30 days) to accelerate equity when momentum is strong; avoid toxic resets.
2)
BTC-Reserve-Linked Notes
(secured)
- Problem: under JP law you generally can’t perfect a lien over Bitcoin itself; instead, you pledge the claim on the custodian (trust bank / qualified custodian) that holds the BTC. Solution: a collateral trust where investors hold a perfected pledge over the right to demand return of BTC from the custodian.
- Rails: FIEA governs the note; PSA/JVCEA govern custody. Use a trust bank (allowed to custody crypto) with 95% cold storage + like-kind hot-wallet coverage.
- Payoff: standard yen coupon; principal protected in yen with a BTC-linked kicker (embedded option) structured by a dealer. Sell on TPBM to professional investors.
3)
Security-Token Bonds
(STO)
- Purpose: same economics as #2, but issued as on-chain securities via ibet for Fin (BOOSTRY) or MUFG Progmat, enabling programmable covenants (LTV triggers, auto-coupon, or margin-call logic), and 24/7 cap-table clarity.
- Market is real: Japan’s security-token issuance has scaled (FY2023 ~¥97.6bn; cumulative public STOs >¥160bn).
4)
Warrants / Third-Party Allotments
(equity-linked fuel)
- Japan-native, fast, repeatable. Metaplanet already uses 新株予約権（行使価額修正条項付）; refine to balanced floors, exercise pauses, and anti-short provisions to avoid toxicity. Use proceeds to buy BTC or to delta-hedge future convertibles.
Risk, optics, and operations (Japan-grade)
- Custody: Park BTC at a Japan trust bank / registered exchange custodian. Document JVCEA-grade segregation and 95% cold-wallet policy in every offering circular.
- Collateral perfection: pledge the claim on the custodian, not the BTC itself; spell out enforcement mechanics (title transfer to trustee upon trigger, sale protocol, FX conversion).
- Venue: use TPBM for speed and repeat taps; shift marquee issues to STO rails for programmability/PR.
- FX: issue in JPY (lowest funding cost), swap to USD on a rolling basis if you time BTC purchases in USD; disclose FX policy and target hedge ratios.
90-day launch plan (no excuses, all gas)
Day 0–14
- Mandate 2–3 bookrunners (Nomura, SBI, Mizuho/SMBC Nikko) for a ¥50–80bn zero-coupon CB and a ¥20–30bn BTC-reserve-linked TPBM note program. Kick off legal with Japan counsel for CB and collateral-trust documentation.
Day 15–30
- Lock custody stack (trust bank + exchange for liquidity) and collateral trust agreement (pledge over custodian claim, cure periods, LTV triggers).
- Prepare TPBM program listing docs (English OK), and CB term sheet with soft call & capped conversion resets.
Day 31–60
- Non-deal roadshow to Japan Pro Investors (insurers, pensions, PBs) with a Bitcoin-treasury deck, custody proofs, and stress-test scenarios.
- Finalize STO pilot (¥3–5bn) on ibet for Fin or Progmat with clean on-chain covenants; aim for a small, oversubscribed issue to establish the curve.
Day 61–90
- Price the CB (0–0.5% coupon; 30–50% premium) into strength; immediately tap the TPBM secured note tranche; allocate 80–90% of net proceeds to BTC per board policy.
Sample term-sheet snippets (JP-market native)
- Issuer: Metaplanet Inc. (TSE Standard) — BTC treasury company with disclosed BTC holdings (update holdings on IR in real time).
- Instrument A: Zero-Coupon Convertible Bonds (TPBM)
Tenor: 7y · Coupon: 0.00% · Premium: 40% · Soft Call: 130% x 20/30 days · Use of proceeds: BTC acquisitions & general corp. purposes. - Instrument B: BTC-Reserve-Linked Secured Notes (TPBM)
Tenor: 3–5y · Coupon: JPY 1.0–1.5% · Security: pledge over claim to BTC at custodian trust · LTV: initial 50%, triggers at 65/75% with top-up/sell-down waterfall · Trustee: Japan trust bank. - Instrument C: Security-Token Bond (STO via ibet/Progmat)
Tenor: 2–3y · Digital covenants (auto top-up notice, coupon day DvP T+1) · Distribution: professional investors, whitelist KYC.
Messaging for maximum lift (Eric-style, Japan-grade)
- “Yen → Bitcoin flywheel”: explain how JPY funding → BTC accumulation → equity optionality compounds book value through cycles.
- “Bank-grade custody, on-chain clarity”: trust-bank segregation + STO transparency = institutional comfort.
- “Japan leads in digital securities”: ride the nation’s STO infrastructure and pro-investor bond venue to out-execute U.S. peers.
If you want, I’ll spin this into a one-pager investor deck plus a red-lined Japan-style CB/TPBM term sheet you can drop on bankers — and we’ll light the boosters. 🚀