Metaplanet Turns to Debt as Bitcoin Stock Nears Buyback Trigger Amid Record Discount

Japan’s Metaplanet adds 2,823 Bitcoin using debt and options income, while its stock trades at a record discount to holdings, prompting potential buybacks.

Japan's corporate Bitcoin treasury Metaplanet has resumed digital-asset purchases with borrowed money and options income, even as its own stock trades at a record discount to the value of its underlying holdings — a gap that under company policy formally opens the door to share buybacks.

The Tokyo-listed shares snapped a slide that had taken them to a 52-week low of €1.04 on 30 June, climbing 6.31% to €1.22 in Frankfurt on Friday. The rebound followed the disclosure that the company acquired 2,823 Bitcoin in the second quarter of its fiscal 2026, taking the total stash to 43,000 coins worth roughly $2.6 billion at current prices.

Yet for all the buying activity, the stock remains 86.91% lower than a year ago and 87% below the all-time high of €9.42 touched in July 2025. The year-to-date decline stands at 45.28%.

The tension stems from a valuation metric known as the mNAV — the ratio of market capitalisation to the dollar value of the Bitcoin in the corporate treasury. By early July, that ratio had fallen to 0.85 on a company-wide basis and to 0.57 per share, meaning investors can buy Metaplanet stock for less than the value of the coins sitting on the balance sheet.

Chief executive Simon Gerovich has repeatedly stated that whenever the mNAV drops below 1.0, the company will seriously evaluate share repurchases. The logic is straightforward: buying back stock at a discount to the Bitcoin backing each share boosts the crypto allocation per remaining share without needing to acquire additional coins.

Metaplanet financed the latest Bitcoin purchases primarily through credit lines, ordinary bond issuance and proceeds from its in-house options trading unit — not through new equity. The choice reflects a reluctance to dilute existing shareholders at a moment when the stock trades below net asset value.

That options unit, however, is showing signs of strain. The so-called Bitcoin Income Generation division, which sells protected option strategies against the company’s crypto holdings, generated operating revenue of 1.747 billion yen in the second quarter, roughly $11 million. That represents a 41% quarter-on-quarter drop and a 59% plunge from the record set in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. Over the first six months of the current fiscal year, the segment’s cumulative revenue came to 4.717 billion yen.

Management attributed the single-quarter weakness to market conditions rather than a structural problem and left its full-year revenue and profit guidance unchanged. On a trailing twelve-month basis, the unit’s revenue actually grew to 11.396 billion yen from 10.780 billion yen in the preceding period.

The divergence in strategy from larger corporate Bitcoin buyers has caught the market’s attention. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, suspended its weekly Bitcoin purchases after its own stock tumbled 82% from its 2025 peak and its mNAV briefly dipped below 1.0. Meanwhile, Nasdaq-listed K Wave Media this week disclosed to the SEC that it had liquidated its entire 88-Bitcoin position, using the proceeds to repay $6 million in debt.

Metaplanet is pressing ahead with plans for Japan’s first listed perpetual preferred-share product and is developing systems for regular dividend payouts. The company has previously flagged preferred stock, additional capital raising and share buybacks as tools for capital allocation around its Bitcoin strategy.

The numbers highlight the scale of the challenge ahead. The company aims to hold more than 100,000 Bitcoin by the end of fiscal 2026 and 210,000 by the end of 2027. With just 43,000 coins in hand, it needs to more than double its stockpile in the next six months — requiring a pace of accumulation far greater than the 2,823 coins added last quarter.

Each incremental coin will have to be funded through debt, options income or dilutive equity issued at a discount to net asset value. The average purchase price for the latest batch came to 12.7 million yen per Bitcoin, well below the historical average cost of 15.3 million yen across the entire portfolio — a rare bright spot that allows the company to improve its long-term cost basis while the market remains depressed.

Chart indicators still point to a fragile recovery. The 50-day moving average at €1.49 and the 200-day moving average at €2.24 both sit well above the current price. The relative strength index of 44 suggests room for further upside before the stock becomes overbought, while annualised volatility of 72.43% underscores how quickly sentiment can swing on any fresh news flow.

Tokyo-traded shares had already gained 3.5% on Thursday, closing at 207 yen, before the Frankfurt market followed suit on Friday. Whether the buying momentum can narrow the gap between a growing Bitcoin stockpile and a stock that still trades at a steep discount to its holdings will depend on the company’s ability to show it can close the chasm between 43,000 coins and its 210,000 target — without relying on the same equity dilution that has soured investor sentiment across the sector.