Metaplanet permits 15% of assets outside Bitcoin for first time since April 2024
Metaplanet, the Tokyo-listed company holding 44,000 Bitcoin, rewrote its own asset rules on Monday to let up to 15% of assets flow outside Bitcoin for the first time since it began buying in April 2024. The move matters because Metaplanet’s stock trades at just 74 cents for every dollar of Bitcoin it holds, a discount that bars the firm from raising fresh equity under its own bylaws.
- Metaplanet’s 44,000 BTC is worth roughly $3.8 billion, while its shares are valued at about $2.1 billion.
- The new 15% ceiling funds acquisitions, income-paying securities and a planned Net Interest Income Strategy lending business.
- In the third quarter, Metaplanet sold more Bitcoin than its entire debt load, then bought back enough to add a net 1,000 BTC.
- 44,000 Bitcoin held by Metaplanet, worth about $3.8 billion
- 15% share of assets now allowed outside Bitcoin, up from near zero
- 74¢ market value per dollar of Bitcoin held, per Bitcoin Treasuries
Metaplanet amended its asset allocation policy on Monday, capping Bitcoin holdings at 85% to 90% of total assets, according to BeInCrypto’s report. The remaining slice can now fund acquisitions, yield-bearing securities and a new investment unit, a departure from the pure buy-and-hold program the company has run since April 2024. The policy change comes as Metaplanet’s stock trades below the value of its own Bitcoin stockpile, a gap the company’s own rules make difficult to close through new share sales.
Gerovich Directs the New 15% Toward Takeovers and Yield
Chief Executive Simon Gerovich said in a post on X that accumulating Bitcoin was never the company’s entire strategy. According to the firm’s filing, the new 15% allocation has three jobs: funding acquisitions, buying income-paying securities, and seeding the Net Interest Income Strategy, which borrows money and invests it in assets paying more than that money costs.
In August, Metaplanet agreed to transfer 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million to Super League Enterprise, a Nasdaq-listed media company, pending regulatory approval. Metaplanet expects to control the firm and rename it Superplanet.
Metaplanet’s mNAV Falls to 74 Cents on the Dollar
At Bitcoin’s current price of about $86,070, Metaplanet’s 44,000 BTC is worth roughly $3.8 billion, yet its shares carry a market value of about $2.1 billion. That gap shows up in Metaplanet’s mNAV, a ratio comparing market capitalization to Bitcoin holdings tracked by Bitcoin Treasuries, which put the figure at 74 cents per dollar of Bitcoin on Monday.
Metaplanet’s own rules ban most new share issuance while the company trades below its Bitcoin’s value, cutting off the equity raises that funded its buying since 2024. Growth capital now depends on loans, bonds and preferred shares carrying fixed dividends instead. Borrowing against Bitcoin on its credit facility stays below about 10% of the coins’ value, a conservative approach.
Metaplanet Nets 1,000 BTC After Selling More Than Its Total Debt
In the third quarter, Metaplanet sold more Bitcoin than its entire outstanding debt and held the proceeds in cash rather than spending them immediately. It then repurchased more Bitcoin than it had sold, ending the quarter with a net gain of 1,000 BTC. Gerovich framed the maneuver as a proof point for creditors weighing whether to rate the company.
Rating agencies and credit investors ask one question of a Bitcoin company: can that Bitcoin be turned into cash to meet obligations, and will it be? We answered by doing it.
Simon Gerovich, Chief Executive of Metaplanet
Metaplanet is now pursuing a formal credit rating on the strength of that track record. The Tokyo Stock Exchange has not yet ruled on the company’s separate plan to list preferred shares, a decision that could reshape how it funds growth under the new 15% rule.
The CCS read. A 74 cent mNAV tells creditors Metaplanet’s equity cannot absorb another dilution round, which is why the firm is redirecting new capital toward debt-like instruments instead. The 15% carve-out looks less like diversification and more like a hedge against a stock that the market refuses to price at par with its Bitcoin.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s decision on Metaplanet’s preferred share listing remains pending, and its outcome will determine whether the company can tap a new funding channel beyond the Bitcoin-backed credit facility it currently limits to roughly 10% of coin value.