Metaplanet will begin trading a sponsored Level I American Depositary Receipt (ADR) on the U.S. over-the-counter market under the ticker MPJPY. The sponsored ADR replaces the prior unsponsored ADR that traded as MTPLF and is positioned to simplify access to Metaplanet’s Bitcoin-centric equity for U.S. retail and institutional OTC participants.
The MPJPY ADR lets U.S. investors buy Metaplanet shares in U.S. dollars without opening a Japanese brokerage account or handling foreign exchange conversions, reducing execution friction for OTC market participants. A Level I ADR is an entry-level instrument that enables trading of a foreign issuer’s shares in the U.S. OTC market while preserving the underlying shares on the home exchange.
Metaplanet framed the change as a strategic upgrade: corporate sponsorship is intended to lower intermediary costs, improve disclosure flow and standardize settlement through a formal deposit agreement. Metaplanet also highlighted that the ADR provides a regulated pathway to its Bitcoin treasury exposure, allowing dollar-based investors to access the company’s Bitcoin-backed asset strategy without transacting on foreign venues.
Dylan Le Clair, Head of Bitcoin Strategy at Metaplanet, emphasized lower costs, saying the MPJPY ADR offers “significantly lower trading fees than unsponsored OTC instruments,” noting the company’s direct involvement in administration as the main driver of cost reductions.
Strategic Metaplanet partners
Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas will act as the depositary bank and MUFG Bank will serve as custodian in Japan. Under the depositary arrangement, Deutsche Bank is responsible for issuance and cancellation of ADRs and for distributing dividends in dollars, providing an established operational and compliance framework intended to boost investor confidence.
The new sponsored structure replaces the unsponsored MTPLF listing, consolidating corporate oversight of U.S.-market trading and aiming to improve liquidity and settlement quality for OTC trades.
Metaplanet has stated that the ADR program is not intended to raise capital or change outstanding share count; its purpose is to expand investor access and engagement while avoiding dilution. The sponsored Level I format does not imply a U.S. exchange listing and retains limitations characteristic of OTC trading, including differences in disclosure and regulatory treatment compared with exchange-listed securities.
The depositary-custodian arrangement is presented as a compliance and operational upgrade over unsponsored instruments, improving the availability of company information to U.S. investors and formalizing dividend and corporate action handling.
