The world of cryptocurrency took center stage in Tokyo on Monday, September 1, 2025, as Eric Trump, the second son of U.S. President Donald Trump, made a highly anticipated appearance at a shareholder meeting for Metaplanet, a Japanese bitcoin treasury company. The event, held in the bustling Shibuya district, marked a pivotal moment in the Trump family’s growing international crypto ventures and signaled a bold new chapter for Metaplanet, a company that has rapidly reinvented itself from a struggling hotel operator to a formidable force in the digital asset space.
Eric Trump’s presence at the meeting comes just months after his appointment in March as an adviser to Metaplanet, a company that now holds more than $2 billion in bitcoin and ranks as the seventh-largest public treasury bitcoin holder worldwide, according to BitcoinTreasuries.net. Trump’s attendance followed his recent appearance at the Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong, underscoring the family’s expanding influence in the global cryptocurrency arena.
The Tokyo shareholder meeting was anything but a typical corporate affair. According to Reuters, the venue buzzed with excitement: people in costumes lined up at the entrance, food trucks offered culinary delights, and a K-Pop band was scheduled to perform. The festive atmosphere reflected the high stakes and optimism surrounding Metaplanet’s transformation. However, despite the lively scene outside, the meeting itself remained closed to the media, adding an air of exclusivity and intrigue to the proceedings.
The main order of business was a vote on a bold capital-raising plan: Metaplanet stockholders were asked to approve the sale of up to 550 million new shares overseas, aiming to raise 130.3 billion yen (approximately $884.41 million). The lion’s share of these funds is earmarked for the purchase of additional bitcoin, further cementing Metaplanet’s commitment to digital assets. Three attendees emerging from the meeting confirmed to Reuters that the plan was approved, and Eric Trump was slated to participate in a fireside chat later in the day.
Metaplanet’s meteoric rise has been nothing short of extraordinary. Once known as Red Planet Japan, the company’s core business revolved around hotel operations—a sector battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2024, its hotel subsidiary, Red Planet Hotels Japan, filed for bankruptcy, signaling the end of an era. But rather than fade away, Metaplanet’s founder and CEO, Simon Gerovich, drew inspiration from Michael Saylor’s bitcoin treasury firm, Strategy MSTR.O. Gerovich liquidated most of Metaplanet’s hotel assets and plunged headfirst into cryptocurrency, selling bonds and warrants to amass a substantial bitcoin reserve.
This audacious pivot has paid off handsomely. Metaplanet’s shares have soared nearly 760% in the past twelve months, a staggering figure compared to the 14% advance in Japan’s Topix index. On the day of the Tokyo meeting, the company announced the purchase of an additional 1,009 bitcoin coins, bringing its total holdings to 20,000 coins. Despite a slight dip in share price—down 3.9% in afternoon trading—the company’s overall trajectory remains sharply upward.
Eric Trump’s involvement has added a new layer of international attention and credibility to Metaplanet’s ambitions. Earlier this year, the company appointed him to a newly formed board of advisers, lauding him as a “leading voice and advocate of digital asset adoption worldwide.” While Metaplanet declined to comment on Trump’s specific role at the meeting, and a representative for him did not respond to media inquiries, his participation in both the shareholder meeting and the fireside chat underscored the strategic partnership between the Trump family and Metaplanet.
The Trump family’s foray into cryptocurrency extends beyond advisory roles. Eric Trump and his brother, Donald Trump Jr., co-founded American Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency mining company that is now aiming to list on the Nasdaq exchange later this month. Asher Genoot, CEO of the company that currently holds 80% of American Bitcoin, confirmed Eric Trump’s attendance at the Metaplanet event, as previously reported by Bloomberg. The listing of American Bitcoin on Nasdaq is expected to further amplify the family’s influence in the digital asset sector.
President Donald Trump himself has emerged as a vocal supporter of cryptocurrency, vowing to become the “crypto president.” He has argued that digital assets can improve the global banking system and bolster the dominance of the U.S. dollar. “I back the asset class because it can improve the banking system and increase the dominance of the U.S. dollar,” Trump has stated, according to Reuters. However, the Trumps’ business interests in crypto have not been without controversy. Critics point out that some of the family’s ventures have benefited from policy shifts under President Trump, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest and the broader implications for U.S. financial policy.
Metaplanet’s story is emblematic of a broader trend in the corporate world: the embrace of digital assets as a hedge against economic uncertainty and a pathway to explosive growth. The company’s journey from music CD wholesaler to hotel operator—and now to bitcoin powerhouse—illustrates the volatility and adaptability that define the modern business landscape. The festive atmosphere at the Tokyo meeting, complete with costumes and K-Pop performances, may seem unconventional, but it reflects the sense of possibility and transformation that cryptocurrency continues to inspire.
As Metaplanet doubles down on its bitcoin strategy, questions linger about the sustainability of such rapid growth and the risks associated with heavy exposure to a notoriously volatile asset. Yet, for now, shareholders appear to be betting big on the future of digital currency, buoyed by the company’s recent successes and the high-profile endorsement of figures like Eric Trump.
With the approval of the capital-raising plan and the continued accumulation of bitcoin, Metaplanet is positioning itself at the forefront of the global crypto movement. The company’s bold bets, coupled with the Trump family’s international influence, are likely to keep both supporters and skeptics watching closely in the months ahead. For Metaplanet and its stakeholders, the next chapter in this remarkable transformation is just beginning.
