CEO of Tokyo-listed Metaplanet Holding Bitcoin: The Bank of Japan is an Institution Born from Inflation Memory
Simon Gerovich, CEO of Tokyo-listed Metaplanet, which holds Bitcoin, stated that the Bank of Japan is an institution born from inflation memory: during the Southwest War in 1877, part of the military expenses was supported by issuing unredeemed paper currency, leading to a sharp rise in prices; Matsukata Masayoshi promoted the organization of paper currency, establishing the Bank of Japan in 1882, and the 1884 banknote convertibility regulations unified the issuance rights, inscribed with the principle of "never wanting to go through this again." He believes that understanding the currency mechanism starts from here.
After the Southwest War, the Meiji government suspended redemption and used inflation to support military expenses, a common narrative in monetary history. Matsukata's deflation subsequently contracted the paper currency and established modern finance and central banking, at the cost of several years of depression. Gerovich also mentioned at an industry conference that Japan's debt is about 240% of GDP, and the cash stock and the 2028 regulatory node provide a macro background for the company treating Bitcoin as a reserve, stating that the company has expanded its Bitcoin per share through financing. This speech did not provide new purchase figures nor announce any changes in Bank of Japan policy. The convertibility regulations targeted the decentralized issuance of national banks, not today's quantitative easing texts.
Writing the origins of central banks as anti-inflation inscriptions provides a historical reference for current inflation and national debt burdens, not a rewriting of the 1884 regulations. The narrative of Bitcoin reserves needs "fiat currency once lost its anchor due to war" as an opening, with the Southwest War paper currency being the page he chose.
In market mechanisms, this is historical rhetoric, not open market operations. The buyers map Japan's macro risks onto Bitcoin shareholders, while the sellers still view the Bank of Japan as the main engine against deflation in bond accounts. Funds do not flow in and out of government bonds due to a historical post, but Metaplanet's equity treats the "re-inflation memory" as an advertisement for reserve logic. The beneficiaries are the narrative density of Bitcoin vault companies, while the pressured side is the interpretation that only sees the Bank of Japan as a yield curve control tool, without reading its founding purpose. The establishment in 1882 was to unify issuance and restore redemption; the 2026 balance sheet is another set of constraints, and the two cannot be directly converted.
In supplementary remarks, he recently wrote about the Bank of Japan buying about $4 billion in two weeks after the Nixon shock but still unable to maintain the 360 yen level, with the same theme being: once the currency anchor loosens, institutional memory will be re-referenced.
Source: Public Information
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Gerovich annotates the origin of the Bank of Japan with the Southwest War paper currency: first came the trauma of inflation, then the unified issuance rights. The Matsukata route exchanged depression for redemption, not easing for growth. Metaplanet integrates the same set of memories into its Bitcoin vault: high national debt and inflation returning to a rarely seen range over the past thirty years, the company chooses to write its reserves as another kind of anchor. The speech did not discuss the scale of bond purchases, only mentioning the inscription "never wanting to go through this again"—this treats the central bank as a memory device, not as a current interest rate forecast.
The capital path is the listed company's vault arbitraging the history of sovereign currency. The cash and government bond stock of Japanese households provide a contrast, while Bitcoin offers a unit of reserves that the company can disclose. The 2028 regulatory node is seen by him as a time window for institutional entry. The history lesson reduces the cost of explanation: there is no need to first debate Bitcoin, but to first let the audience acknowledge that paper currency once lost its anchor due to war. The convertibility regulations unified banknotes, not converting national reserves into crypto assets.
Analogies include the German references to 1923 and the Federal Reserve's references to the 1970s. Japan is at a stage where the ultra-low interest rate era is ending, debt ratios remain extremely high, and the central bank is still the largest holder of government bonds. The founding purpose is anti-inflation, while the practice has long been anti-deflation; the tension itself is the narrative gap of vault companies.
Structural changes belong to the transfer of pricing power. Whoever owns the narrative of "why currency exists" possesses the interpretive power of reserve assets. The mechanism is: war financing leaves inflation memories, which are inscribed into central bank charters; these charters are covered by another set of tools during deflationary years; when inflation and debt frame again, the old inscriptions are re-referenced by private balance sheets. Reading currency starts from trauma, bringing the central bank back from a technocratic institution to political memory.
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- Central banks are often first forced out by inflation, then their purposes rewritten by subsequent deflation.
- The inscription on the system that states "never wanting to go through this again" will be re-read when prices rise again.
- When private vaults seek a new anchor, the first page they turn to is the one where old paper currency lost its anchor.