Strategy and Metaplanet Add More Bitcoin As MSTR Gets Rejected from S&P 500

Bitcoin treasury companies Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and Metaplanet continue to increase their BTC bets, despite the overall macroeconomic backdrop. This week, both companies announced large BTC acquisitions. Besides, there has been another development related to Strategy – the company was denied permission to enter the major stock index, the S&P 500.

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Strategy and Metaplanet purchase more Bitcoin

These companies have added more Bitcoin to their stashes. Strategy bought 1,955 BTC for approximately $217.4 million, and Metaplanet purchased 136 BTC for $15.2 million, doubling down on their long-term Bitcoin strategies. These acquisitions have increased Strategy’s total holdings to 638,460 BTC, worth more than $71 billion. As for Metaplanet, this company now holds 20,136 BTC in total. This amount of Bitcoin is valued at $2.28 billion. The massive scale of these holdings stresses the solid commitment to BTC as their primary treasury asset and a hedge against the volatility of the traditional financial system.

There is more to it. Metaplanet has demonstrated its ability to raise capital for Bitcoin purchases quickly. After announcing the aforementioned purchase, it also spread the word about raising $1.4 billion in Japanese yen, earmarked for further BTC accumulation. By making this move, Metaplanet has solidified its position as a strong institutional player in Asia. The funds it continues to raise reflect both investor confidence in the company and the appetite of local investors for digital gold. It also means that global institutional interest in Bitcoin remains robust and strong as corporations continue allocating large portions of their capital to digital currencies.

Meanwhile, Saylor continues to believe in the long-term potential of Bitcoin, as in May, during the Bitcoin 2025 event, he confidently stated that all the global business capital is going to flow into the Bitcoin network.

Strategy rejected from S&P 500 inclusion

In the meantime, the long-anticipated inclusion of Strategy into the S&P 500 index attracted wide attention. But last week, the company found out that its inclusion into the index that tracks the largest companies in the market was denied, apparently, reflecting concerns of the conventional market over the risks associated with Strategy’s heavy bet on Bitcoin.

Still, this week, Michael Saylor made an optimistic statement, saying that eventually the S&P 500 will embrace both Strategy and Bitcoin. Inclusion of the company in the index would mark a big milestone for Strategy, legitimizing it for large index-tracking funds. ETFs would gain exposure to MSTR, thus indirectly making bets on Bitcoin.

Still, one large company related to cryptocurrencies was included in the index – the popular trading app Robinhood that offers exposure both to traditional stocks and crypto. This index already includes such giants as Berkshire Hathaway, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and others. In a recent X post, Strategy shared an infographic, underscoring the following fact: “Our treasury ranks 5th vs all S&P 500 companies.”

Bitcoin ETFs continue to see large inflows

The timing of Strategy’s new Bitcoin acquisition aligns with large inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). On September 10, Bitcoin ETFs sucked in a netflow of $59.75 million. BlackRock’s iShares IBIT took in the largest BTC batch of 1,521 BTC valued at $173.42 million. This fund now holds 752,301 Bitcoins, equal to $85.76 billion.

VanEck, Valkyrie, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, and Mini Trust got much smaller BTC inflows, while the rest of the funds faced significant outflows. These ETFs acquire Bitcoin to back their BTC shares that track the spot BTC price performance. Financial institutions are heavily accumulating these stocks, thus making indirect exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency without having to hold BTC directly and ensuring the safety of their private keys. These ETFs provide a bridge between traditional financial markets and cryptocurrency ones – Bitcoin and Ethereum. Several filings have already been submitted to launch ETFs based on SOL, XRP, DOGE, and other popular altcoins.

Fed is expected to slash interest rates in September

In August, the head of the Fed Reserve, Jerome Powell, explicitly hinted that in September, interest rates are likely to be cut. This news sent ripples through financial markets as the Fed’s pivot from hawkish to dovish stances usually ensures an inflow of cheap capital to the markets and allows risk assets, such as Bitcoin and gold, to rise in price.

Many expect Bitcoin to skyrocket (Tim Draper even stated that BTC would soar to $250,000 by the end of the year). However, some analysts are also saying that Fed’s rate cut may trigger a “sell the news” event, thus pushing the Bitcoin price down rather than up.

Traders and investors are now looking forward to the Fed’s move to see how the markets will react.