Mitsubishi UFJ is increasing its exposure to Strategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin.
The Japanese financial giant now holds 360,613 shares of MSTR after adding 53,430 shares.
Its stake has grown by 17.4% compared to the previously reported 307,183-share position.
The latest holding is valued at roughly $35 million based on the disclosure.
This Japanese financial group has another sizable indirect exposure to Bitcoin via Strategy.
It should be noted that the 360,613 shares should not be described simply as shares sitting on Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s own balance sheet. The position is associated with Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of MUFG.
MUFG’s long MSTR history
Historical 13F data shows that the asset manager had a position as far back as 2011, when it reported roughly 2,000 shares of MicroStrategy, and it reported approximately 3,700 shares in March 2013. The position subsequently disappeared from the reported history for several years before reappearing in 2023.
By September 2023, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management was reporting just 14 MSTR shares.
By late 2024, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management had accumulated approximately 103,000 MSTR shares.
As of March 31, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management reported 307,183 MSTR shares.
Other Japanese players
Mitsubishi UFJ is not alone. Nomura Holdings has been one of the more significant Japanese institutional holders.
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings is another major Japanese institutional investor with considerable MSTR exposure.
Japan has also become home to one of the world’s most prominent corporate Bitcoin-treasury strategies. Metaplanet, a Tokyo-listed company, adopted Bitcoin as its principal treasury reserve asset in April 2024.