Metaplanet's Bi-Level Meltdown: Preferred Payouts Secured as Common Stock Breaches All Support Levels

Metaplanet issues $5.8M preferred dividend from Bitcoin options revenue as common stock plunges 87%, near 52-week low of €1.20.

Metaplanet is navigating a deepening identity crisis. The Japanese company behind a Bitcoin-focused balance sheet has committed to a preferred-stock dividend plan worth 867 million yen (roughly $5.8 million) — at the exact moment its common equity is trading near a 52-week low of 1.20 euros. The shares have shed 87% of their value since hitting a peak of 11.40 euros in June 2025, closing recently at around 1.30 euros. Year-to-date, the drop stands at 42%.

The dividend is reserved exclusively for Class-B preferred shares, with three payout dates scheduled in 2026 at 12.25 yen per share each. Critically, the company plans to fund the distribution from capital reserves rather than retained earnings, insulating the preferred holders from the wild swings of its crypto portfolio. The cash itself comes from Metaplanet’s so-called Bitcoin income business — selling options on the cryptocurrency. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, that unit generated nearly 3 billion yen in revenue.

On its face, the operating business appears to be accelerating. Operating profit surged 282% to roughly 2.3 billion yen. But a massive net loss of 114 billion yen, driven by compulsory writedowns on Bitcoin holdings under Japanese accounting rules, tells a different story. The earnings gap between the operating line and the bottom line is a stark reminder that Metaplanet’s core equity bears the full weight of crypto volatility.

Technically, the stock is in distress across every timeframe. The 50-day moving average sits at 1.70 euros, 23% above the current price, while the 200-day average of 2.60 euros is nearly double the market price. All three key moving averages are sloping downward, forming a solid wall of overhead resistance. The 14-day relative strength index at 31.7 is just above the oversold threshold of 30. While it recently dipped to 23.9, the mild recovery has not yet produced a convincing reversal signal. A sustainable close above 1.70 euros would be the minimum requirement for a trend change.

Short sellers have taken notice. Metaplanet has been one of the most heavily shorted stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for months, and the annualised 30-day volatility of nearly 59% offers them an ideal environment for intraday scalping. The company also faces a structural overhang: as of late May, roughly 947,000 unexercised subscription rights remained, convertible into 95 million new shares. With 1.28 billion shares outstanding, that equates to a potential dilution of 7.4%. While conversion has been slow so far, the overhang weighs on sentiment.

The entire financing edifice rests on the assumption that Bitcoin options revenue can reliably cover the preferred dividend stream. The first payout in July 2026 will be the litmus test. If those cash flows hold up, the pressure on the common stock may ease; if they falter, the gap between the two share classes will only widen. For now, the 52-week low of 1.20 euros remains the only technical floor. A sustained break below that level would leave the stock without any established support zone.