According to 10x Research, Japanese company Metaplanet is actually trading at a valuation of $596,154 per Bitcoin, which is equivalent to a premium of 447%. The research firm warned that retail investors may be paying too high a premium for indirect exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) through the company's stock.

Data shows that Metaplanet is currently the most shorted stock in the Japanese market, reflecting hedge funds' high doubts about its valuation and deviation from its net asset value (NAV).

Currently, Metaplanet's stock price is 1,116 yen, up more than 400% in the past six months, and more than 200% this month alone. This trend is mainly driven by the company's aggressive coin hoarding strategy.

Metaplanet officially implemented the Bitcoin-first treasury strategy known as the "Japan Strategy" in 2024, causing its stock price to soar and market attention to explode.

As of now, the company holds a total of 7,800 BTC, with a total market value of more than $850 million at current prices. This includes 1,004 newly purchased BTC at the beginning of this month.

Although Metaplanet is currently the stock with the heaviest short position in the Japanese market, its performance remains strong, with a 15% increase today alone, continuing to hit new highs.

Due to the serious deviation of its net asset valuation (NAV), more and more hedge fund managers have questioned the sustainability of its valuation and believe that the current price may be out of touch with fundamentals.

As more and more investment channels provide exposure to Bitcoin, retail investors should be more vigilant when deploying similar assets-many may pay a premium far above the market price without knowing it.

According to data, Metaplanet became the most bought stock in the NISA account of SBI Securities, Japan's largest online brokerage, last week, showing that Japanese retail investors' demand for indirect exposure to Bitcoin is surging.

Japanese investors are increasingly inclined to use the NISA investment mechanism that is exempt from capital gains tax to indirectly participate in the rising dividends of Bitcoin in a tax-free manner.

Metaplanet’s CEO recently said the company is “Japan’s ultimate Bitcoin proxy asset” and will speak at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas this week, drawing more attention to its Bitcoin strategy.