Saylor Says Strategy Will Not Issue Preferred Equity In Japan, Giving Metaplanet A 12 Month Headstart

What to know:

The question everyone has been waiting for is whether  Strategy (MSTR)  will list a perpetual preferred equity, or "digital credit," in Japan.That question was put directly to executive chairman Michael Saylor at the  bitcoin MENA conference  by Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich.

Saylor’s answer was, "not in the next twelve months, I will give you a twelve month head start".

Gerovich raised the question as  Metaplanet moves  to introduce its own digital credit instruments into Japan’s largely "sleepy" perpetual preferred market.

Japan currently has only five listed perpetual preferred equities, with All Nippon Airways (ANA) becoming the fifth, according to Gerovich. Metaplanet aims to become the sixth and seventh with its two new instruments, "Mercury" and "Mars."

Mercury, which Gerovich described as Metaplanet’s version of  Strategy's STRK , pays 4.9% in yen and includes convertibility. Gerovich contrasted this with Japanese bank deposits and money market funds that yield close to zero or roughly 50bps, highlighting that Mercury pays about ten times more. Mercury is in its pre IPO stage, and Gerovich hopes to list it by early 2026.

Mars, the second instrument, is designed to mirror  Strategy's STRC , which is a short duration high yield credit product.

This exchange comes just as Strategy has recently expanded its own perpetual preferred program. The company now has four perpetual preferreds in the United States and recently launched its first outside the US,  Stream (STRM ), a euro denominated preferred.

Gerovich also pointed out that Japan does not allow at the market share sales, ATM, like Strategy uses for both its common stock and perpetual preferreds. Metaplanet instead uses a similar mechanism known as a moving strike warrant (MSW), which it plans to apply to its perpetual preferred offerings.