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.
The two leaders also differed on how many bitcoin treasury companies should issue what Saylor calls digital credit. Saylor encouraged broad participation and cited Strive’s (SATA) instrument, saying to expect a dozen issuers.
Gerovich argued that the focus should be on balance sheet strength rather than the number of issuers, adding that Metaplanet intends to issue credit primarily in Japan and potentially across Asia, but not in other markets for now.