Metaplanet Slashes Options Pool by 41.1% as Hong Kong Subsidiary Takes Shape
Published on 09/11/2026 at 18:31 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Metaplanet's board has moved to defuse one of the most contentious issues hanging over the Japanese bitcoin-treasury firm, voting to shrink its Series-10 options program by 41.1 percent. The maximum number of shares issuable under the plan drops from 319,464,000 to 188,190,000, with the exercise price held steady at 10 yen per share.
The decision lands after weeks of shareholder agitation over dilution risk. Simon Gerovich, Metaplanet's chief executive, had acknowledged the criticism roughly a week earlier and pledged to communicate more transparently on governance and compensation matters. Since then, the stock has shed around 12.0 percent.
The roots of the dispute stretch back to August, when the board first fixed the program's ceiling at 319,464,000 shares, replacing an arrangement that had allowed automatic expansion whenever new shares were issued. Under the contested structure, executives stood to receive options equivalent to 20 percent of all fully diluted shares — a pool that grew in lockstep with every new equity raise used to fund further bitcoin purchases. David Bailey, who heads Bitcoin Magazine, publicly defended the design, pointing out that the pool builds up over a five-year horizon.
Hong Kong Vehicle and a Boardroom Shuffle
Alongside the options overhaul, Metaplanet unveiled a wholly owned subsidiary in Hong Kong. Metaplanet Asset Management Asia Limited launches with USD 1 million in initial capital and will operate across bitcoin, equities and credit products during Asian trading hours.
The board also reshuffled its leadership ranks, naming Shinpei Okuno as chief financial officer with immediate effect. Shareholders will be asked to approve a capital reduction at an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for December 18. The changes come amid broader churn in the executive team: earlier in the week, business head Phil Geiger departed to take roles at Verify Wealth, the Bitcoin Scholars Fund and Branta.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Metaplanet?
Unexplained Bitcoin Transfers Add to the Unease
On-chain watchers flagged transfers of 1,600 bitcoin to two newly created wallet addresses earlier in the week, injecting fresh uncertainty. No confirmation of a sale followed, and the movements were characterized only as potentially custody-related or preparatory in nature. For investors already tracking the company's bitcoin holdings closely, the question mark lingers.
Shareholders Push Back on 273 Million Shares
The governance friction extends beyond the boardroom's own remedy. A shareholder campaign is demanding the cancellation of 273 million additional shares tied to the tenth executive options pool, arguing that the structure systematically erodes the stakes of existing holders with each capital measure. The standoff follows an earlier flare-up over altered subscription-rights terms that drew heavy criticism and preceded a roughly 18.6 percent slide in the share price.
Market Snapshot
Thursday's close came in at EUR 1.38, essentially flat with a 0.3 percent decline from the prior session. The stock has lost 38 percent year-to-date and has more than halved over twelve months, leaving a market capitalization of roughly EUR 1.89 billion — a fraction of its value at the peak of the bitcoin-treasury frenzy.
Friday brought a rebound: the shares climbed 8.0 percent to EUR 1.49 from the previous close of EUR 1.38. Over 30 days the stock is up 21 percent, though it remains 33 percent cheaper since the start of the year. The relative strength index sits at 43.2, a reading that signals neither oversold nor overbought conditions — the market appears to be waiting to see how the company resolves its internal conflict.
Regional Momentum Contrasts With Metaplanet's Woes
The governance battle unfolds against a far more buoyant backdrop for Asian crypto more broadly. Data from Tracxn shows funding for crypto startups in Southeast Asia doubled to USD 680 million in 2026 across 25 financing rounds, up from USD 319 million over 46 rounds the previous year. Singapore accounts for 82.5 percent of all equity funding in the region and now hosts 2,285 of the 3,957 registered blockchain firms.
Competition among bitcoin-treasury vehicles is meanwhile being redrawn. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, is working to lift its S&P credit rating out of junk territory (B-) after its dollar liquidity swelled from USD 54 million to USD 6.54 billion within a year. According to S&P, an upgrade is unlikely before October 2026 at the earliest.
For Metaplanet's investors, the pivotal question is whether the shareholder protests over the options pool will actually force a change to the issuance terms. Should the demands fail, the erosion of confidence that the recent price action already hints at would likely deepen.
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