In the last quarter, the most significant market indicator from Japan’s Metaplanet was not a notable Bitcoin acquisition, but rather a strategic pause.
This Tokyo-listed company, which aggressively accumulated Bitcoin throughout 2025, has not made a “Notice of Additional Purchase” since October 1.
While retail observers worried about dwindling conviction, this silence concealed a significant financial dislocation, causing Metaplanet’s Market Net Asset Value (MNAV) to momentarily drop below 1.0.
For a corporate treasury vehicle, an MNAV below 1.0 indicates fundamental inefficiency, suggesting the company’s stock is trading at a discount to the actual Bitcoin value on its balance sheet.
In such circumstances, purchasing Bitcoin on the open market becomes less attractive than buying back one’s own discounted shares.
Recognizing this, the firm’s management acted swiftly to seize this arbitrage opportunity, halting direct accumulation to restructure their capital stack, shifting from simple buying to a more aggressive leverage and equity management approach.
The leverage pivot
Following the MNAV dislocation, a substantial liquidity overhaul was implemented. Metaplanet secured a $100 million loan backed by part of its 30,893 Bitcoin reserves, explicitly designated for intensified accumulation during market downturns.
At the same time, a $500 million credit line was introduced for a share-buyback program, fundamentally altering the company’s defensive strategy.
When MNAV falls below parity, every share retired by Metaplanet effectively raises the Bitcoin-per-share ratio for remaining investors more efficiently than direct Bitcoin purchases would.
This demonstrates a shift towards a more sophisticated financial operation rather than merely a passive holding company.
By integrating this defensive approach with a $100 million Bitcoin-backed loan, Metaplanet is managing risk to heighten returns. Utilizing borrowed funds to acquire more of the underlying asset follows a classic “looping” strategy often used by aggressive crypto-native funds, albeit rarely seen in Japanese corporate governance.
This indicates that CEO Simon Gerovich is open to increased volatility in pursuit of expanding the treasury ahead of the next supply shock.
The strategy implies that the October-to-December pause was an intensive period of balance sheet restructuring, aimed at unlocking the liquidity trapped in cold wallets to support the next growth phase.
With the established credit facilities, the company can effectively purchase both its own stock and Bitcoin on any trading day, depending on where the most value lies.
The EGM mandate
The groundwork for this newfound aggressiveness was solidified on December 22.
Following an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of shareholders, Gerovich confirmed that investors had approved all five management proposals. These resolutions establish the legal and operational framework required to implement the company’s intricate new strategy.
The first proposal held the most significance for immediate capital allocation. Shareholders approved the transfer of capital stock and reserves into “other capital surplus.”
In simpler terms, this accounting move releases distributable capital, allowing the company to pay dividends on preferred shares and facilitates the treasury stock acquisitions necessary to address the MNAV discount.
The second proposal increased the authorized share count for Class A and Class B preferred shares from 277.5 million to 555 million for each class.
This substantial increase allows Metaplanet to raise capital swiftly without needing to convene future shareholder meetings, effectively giving management the flexibility to scale the balance sheet in accordance with institutional demand.
The remaining proposals restructured the preferred shares themselves. Class A shares, now referred to as “MARS” (Metaplanet Adjustable Rate Security), transitioned to a monthly variable-rate dividend.
This design is intended to stabilize the price of the instrument, making it more appealing to conservative income investors.
Meanwhile, Class B shares were modified to pay quarterly dividends and now include a call provision exercisable by the issuer at 130% after 10 years.
Additionally, they grant investors a put option if an IPO does not materialize within a year. This clause strongly suggests potential future listing ambitions or liquidity events, possibly targeted at US markets.
Furthermore, perhaps the most impactful catalyst for Metaplanet’s future trajectory emerged not from Tokyo, but from Oslo. Norges Bank Investment Management, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund with $2 trillion in assets, expressed unanimous support for all Metaplanet’s proposals.
For a fund of this scale to vote in favor of a capital restructuring designed to facilitate Bitcoin accumulation marks a transformative moment for the asset class.
This demonstrates that institutional allocators are starting to regard Bitcoin treasury strategies not as “shadow banking” anomalies, but as legitimate corporate governance frameworks.
The road to 100,000 BTC
With governance approvals secured and credit lines established, the “pause” has effectively concluded. The restructuring has paved the way for Metaplanet to pursue its ultimate objective of amassing a treasury of 100,000 BTC.
The combination of the EGM mandate and Norges Bank’s endorsement provides the momentum, while the $100 million loan and $500 million buyback facility enable the process.
Metaplanet has evolved from a company acquiring Bitcoin actively with cash flow to a financial architect that employs every tool in the corporate finance playbook, including buybacks, asset-backed lending, and structured preferred equity to maximize exposure.
Essentially, the market should anticipate a return to more frequent filings, but with a potential shift in the nature of those filings. We may see a dynamic blend of share repurchases when the MNAV discount widens, alongside aggressive spot Bitcoin purchases when premiums reappear.
The silence of the past three months was not indicative of indecision; it was the sound of a company gearing up.
