Metaplanet OKs $884M Raise, Eyes $3.8B Preferred While its Bitcoin ‘Flywheel’ Stalls

Metaplanet Inc. has secured shareholder approval to raise up to $884 million through an overseas share sale, even as questions mount over the sustainability of its aggressive Bitcoin accumulation strategy.

The move marks the latest pivot for the Tokyo-based company, once a struggling hotel operator, now one of the world’s largest corporate holders of the cryptocurrency.

Metaplanet shareholders approved a plan on Monday to issue 550 million new shares, raising about 130.3 billion yen ($884 million) as the company seeks fresh capital to expand its Bitcoin holdings.

At the meeting in Tokyo, the firm confirmed most of the proceeds will be directed toward cryptocurrency purchases. The plan was proposed last Wednesday.

The event drew an unusually festive crowd, complete with food trucks, a K-pop performance, and a high-profile appearance by Eric Trump. Trump, who joined Metaplanet’s board of advisers in March, appeared on stage with founder and CEO Simon Gerovich.

He praised Gerovich as “one of the most honest people I’ve ever met” and reiterated his view of Bitcoin as “the ultimate global asset.”

Trump also disclosed that the Trump Organization holds Bitcoin and claimed that sovereign wealth funds and world leaders are now moving to accumulate the token. He recently spoke at the Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong.

Metaplanet announced that it added 1,009 Bitcoin on Monday, bringing its total to 20,000 coins worth more than $2 billion. According to BitcoinTreasuries.net, the purchase makes the Tokyo-based firm the sixth-largest corporate Bitcoin holder.

Bitcoin Premium Compression Threatens Metaplanet’s Accumulation Strategy

The expansion comes as Metaplanet faces pressure on its financing strategy. Gerovich, a former Goldman Sachs derivatives trader, has relied on “moving strike warrants” issued to Evo Fund to generate cash for Bitcoin purchases.

The approach, which Gerovich dubbed the “flywheel,” allowed the company to raise funds at low cost while its stock was climbing.

Additionally, the model has faltered as shares retreated. After soaring more than 740% over the past year, Metaplanet’s stock has fallen 54% since peaking in mid-June, even as Bitcoin has risen 2% in the same period.

The slowdown has curbed accumulation, with Bitcoin holdings growing by 160% in the two months through June but less than 50% since.

“The flywheel has slowed,” said Mark Chadwick, a former Jefferies analyst cited by Bloomberg. “As the stock declines, each exercise generates less capital to buy Bitcoin.”

The analysts also note the compression of Metaplanet’s so-called “Bitcoin premium”—the difference between the company’s market capitalization and the value of its holdings.

Once at more than eight times its Bitcoin reserves in June, the multiple has narrowed to roughly two.

“The Bitcoin premium is what drives the success of the entire strategy,” said Natixis analyst Eric Benoist. “If the premium compresses, they can’t accumulate on the same terms, interest wanes, and the stock goes down.”

To ease the strain, in addition to the $884 million overseas share sale, Metaplanet previously proposed issuing up to 555 million preferred shares, potentially raising as much as ¥555 billion ($3.8 billion).

The securities would carry dividends of up to 6% and be capped at 25% of the value of the company’s Bitcoin holdings. While preferred shares typically lack voting rights, they offer dividend priority over common stock, an attractive feature for Japanese investors in a low-rate environment.

Gerovich has called the preferred issuance a “defensive mechanism,” designed to protect common shareholders from dilution if the stock trades closer to the value of its Bitcoin reserves.

The company also suspended the exercise of Evo Fund’s warrants through September to prepare for the move.

“We don’t want to fall behind—people are racing to buy Bitcoin,” Gerovich said. “I want another tool in my toolkit.”

Bitcoin traded at $108,046 on Monday, down from last month’s record of $124,481, though Eric Trump insisted prices would eventually climb to $1 million.

Corporate Bitcoin Holdings Pass $111B as Metaplanet Leads in Asia

Metaplanet Inc. has cemented its position as Asia’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, reporting a 468% yield in the second quarter of 2025 as its treasury reached 18,113 BTC worth $2.1 billion.

The Tokyo-listed firm formally adopted Bitcoin treasury operations in December 2024 and has since pivoted fully from hotel management to digital assets under Gerovich.

The company’s rapid accumulation strategy has drawn comparisons to Strategy, which developed the corporate Bitcoin reserve model in the U.S.

Metaplanet’s “555 Million Plan” targets 210,000 BTC, about 1% of the total supply, by 2027. In the near term, it plans to more than quadruple holdings to 100,000 BTC by the end of next year.

The firm reported ¥816 million in operating profit on ¥1,239 million in Q2 revenue, largely driven by ¥1,131 million in income from Bitcoin option underwriting.

The number of shareholders has surged more than 1,000% in a year to 128,000, making Metaplanet the best performer among 55,000 publicly listed firms in 2024.

Globally, more than 170 companies now hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets, totaling over $111 billion. Still, analysts warn that the strategy carries risks of dilution when stock values converge with Bitcoin’s net asset value.

VanEck’s Matthew Sigel cautioned that once company valuations converge with Bitcoin holdings, shareholder dilution may outweigh gains.

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