Metaplanet’s Zero-Coupon Engine Keeps Humming, But the Math Gets Harder

Metaplanet issues ¥8B in zero-coupon bonds for Bitcoin, but reallocates warrant funds to repay debt as BTC holdings face unrealized losses and short seller pressure.

The Tokyo-based corporate Bitcoin accumulator has pulled another lever in its debt-financed acquisition machine, but the latest move reveals a more complicated picture than a simple headline about buying more coins.

Metaplanet has placed its 20th series of zero-coupon bonds, raising ¥8 billion ($50 million) from the Cayman Islands-based EVO FUND — the same vehicle that has backed every prior tranche of this structured financing. The notes carry no interest, mature in April 2027, and the entire proceeds are earmarked for additional Bitcoin purchases. On the surface, it’s the same playbook that has built a 40,177 BTC treasury worth roughly $3.9 billion at current prices.

But look closer, and the story shifts. Metaplanet simultaneously disclosed a reallocation of funds from its 27th series of share acquisition rights. Originally, all ¥37.135 billion from those warrants was destined for Bitcoin. Now, ¥8 billion will instead go toward early repayment of the new bond. A further ¥25.422 billion is reserved for coin purchases, and the remaining ¥3.7 billion will feed Bitcoin yield-generation strategies — the options-based income business that management expects to contribute meaningfully to this year’s operating results.

The restructuring hints at a balance sheet under strain. The 27th series warrants can only be exercised if Metaplanet’s simple net asset value multiplier exceeds 1.01. It currently sits at 0.82. Meanwhile, the company has suspended exercise rights for the 23rd and 24th warrant series through December 2027, affecting rights to as many as 210 million shares. The share price has reacted tepidly, trading around ¥339 after the announcement, slightly in the red.

The Bitcoin position itself is underwater. Metaplanet’s average acquisition cost sits between $97,000 and $104,000 per coin. Bitcoin ended April near $78,000. That gap drove a net loss of $619 million for fiscal 2025, largely from unrealized valuation write-downs. The company’s closely watched “BTC Yield” — which measures Bitcoin growth per diluted share — came in at 2.8% for the first quarter of 2026, a sharp drop from 95.6% in the same period a year earlier, though that earlier figure reflected a much smaller capital base.

None of this has deterred short sellers. Metaplanet regularly trades places at the top of the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s most-shorted list.

CEO Simon Gerovich is currently in Las Vegas speaking at the Bitcoin 2026 conference at the Venetian Hotel, sharing a stage with Michael Saylor and Jack Mallers. The optics underscore the company’s ambition: 100,000 BTC by the end of 2026 and 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027 — the latter representing roughly 1% of Bitcoin’s total 21 million supply cap. To hit the first milestone, Metaplanet would need to acquire nearly 60,000 coins in the remaining months of this year.

For fiscal 2026, management forecasts revenue of roughly $103 million and operating income of about $73 million, with a significant portion coming from the Bitcoin income business. Whether that model can sustain itself under the weight of mounting debt obligations will become clearer as the first bonds come due — the next series matures in 2027. The next formal update arrives with the quarterly report in May 2026.