Metaplanet's Record Options Revenue Collides With $725M Bitcoin Writedown as Tokyo Funding Plan Stalls

Japanese firm Metaplanet posts 251% revenue surge in Bitcoin income business but $725M net loss from mark-to-market charges; preferred share listing blocked, targets 100K BTC by 2026

The numbers coming out of Metaplanet's first-quarter report tell two starkly different stories. On one hand, the Japanese company's core operations — built around Bitcoin options and derivatives — delivered record results: revenue surged 251% to roughly $19.5 million (3 billion yen), while operating income soared 282% to $14.4 million, yielding a formidable 73.6% margin. On the other hand, the very asset that fuels this business dragged the bottom line into the red. A sharp 22-24% decline in Bitcoin during the quarter — from around $87,000 to roughly $66,000, the worst first-quarter slide since 2018 — triggered a $725 million net loss, almost entirely from non-cash mark-to-market charges on its swelling crypto treasury. Per share, the loss amounted to 99 yen.

That treasury has grown steadily. At the end of the last fiscal year, Metaplanet held roughly 35,000 Bitcoin. The figure now stands at 40,177 coins, acquired at an average cost of $97,593 each. Based on current market prices, the portfolio carries a net asset value of $3.1 billion — yet the stock continues to trade at a pronounced discount to that NAV, reflecting lingering uncertainty about the company's long-term funding structure.

To manage its expanding crypto holdings, Metaplanet recently set up a new subsidiary in the British Virgin Islands, designed to handle the digital assets and take advantage of favorable regulatory frameworks. The company also launched a venture capital arm focused on Japan's Bitcoin financial infrastructure. These moves are part of a broader strategy: the so-called "555 Million Plan" aims to accumulate 100,000 BTC by the end of 2026 and 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027. That would require nearly doubling the current stockpile over the next 19 months and then more than doubling it again the following year — a capital need of roughly $10 billion, assuming stable prices.

Raising that capital, however, has hit a regulatory wall in Tokyo. Metaplanet had planned to issue preferred shares — a structure that would have been the first perpetual preferred listing in Japan and only the seventh preferred instrument of any kind on the country's exchanges. But Japanese exchange rules require that preferred dividends be backed by stable, recurring cash flows demonstrated over multiple market cycles. With just six quarters of operating history in the Bitcoin income business, Metaplanet does not yet meet that bar. CEO Simon Gerovich confirmed that the preferred share listing is on hold, and the company is now exploring alternatives, including new equity or bond issuances in the second half of 2026.

Analysts remain cautiously optimistic despite the setbacks. Cantor Fitzgerald recently lowered its price target to $2.75 from $3.00 but maintained a buy rating. Two analysts cover the stock, with an average 12-month target of 943.50 yen — a range of 787 to 1,100 yen — implying substantial upside from the current level. Yet the share price tells a more sobering story. Closing at 308 yen on May 21, Metaplanet sits near its 52-week low of 284 yen. Since the start of the year, the stock has lost about 25%, and it remains a staggering 84% below its 52-week high of 1,930 yen.

For now, Metaplanet's operating momentum is real: the company reiterated its full-year 2026 guidance of roughly $101 million in revenue and $72 million in operating income. But the aggressive accumulation drive — which positions Metaplanet as the third-largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally, behind Strategy (762,099 BTC) and Twenty One Capital (43,514 BTC) — hinges on securing fresh capital in a market that has grown wary of its reliance on a single volatile asset. The next six months will show whether Tokyo's regulators or the company's own ambition proves the stronger force.