Metaplanet CEO Surrenders $220 Million in Stock Rights to Rebuild Trust
Metaplanet, a Tokyo-listed Bitcoin treasury company, has taken a major step to rebuild trust with its investors. The company's CEO, Simon Gerovich, surrendered $220 million in stock rights as part of a plan to reset the Series 10 stock acquisition rights.
The move eliminates more than 41% of the potential shares that could be issued under the Series 10 structure, reducing the remaining unexercised shares by 55.5%. This change ties executive rewards more closely to the quality of future capital raises and recognizes that additional Bitcoin bought with newly issued stock does not provide the same shareholder benefit at every valuation.
Metaplanet's board reviewed previous equity financings based on the premium to Bitcoin net asset value at which shares were sold, the BTC Yield generated, and the resulting shareholder value. Financings through mid-2025 were completed at multiples of Bitcoin NAV and produced substantial increases in Bitcoin per fully diluted share.
The company's BTC Yield reached 129.4% in the second quarter of 2025 as Bitcoin holdings jumped to 13,350 BTC from 4,046 BTC. However, it fell to 33% in the following quarter and 11.9% in the fourth quarter, before dropping to 2.8% in the first quarter of 2026.
Matthew Sigel, VanEck's head of digital assets research, called the revision a 'meaningful concession' that better aligns management with shareholders. He also noted that the revision would see the firm's CEO forfeit $123 million of controversial Series 10 comp.