VanEck Slams Metaplanet's Executive Compensation Design for Failing to Limit Shareholder Dilution

VanEck, an asset manager, has criticized Metaplanet's executive compensation design for not doing enough to limit shareholder dilution. In a report analyzing compensation practices among 10 large digital asset treasury companies, VanEck ranked Metaplanet in its lowest tier.

Metaplanet is a Japanese corporate Bitcoin treasury and holds the third-largest amount of publicly traded corporate Bitcoin at approximately 43,000 BTC. According to VanEck's report, Metaplanet's equity compensation plan equals 14.7% of fully diluted shares, while officer exposure stands at 8.2%, which is significantly higher than peers.

VanEck argued that Metaplanet's structure falls short because it allows the company to expand its option pool automatically as new shares are issued for Bitcoin purchases. Although Metaplanet ended this automatic adjustment in August and reduced its option pool by 41% in September, VanEck still believes that these changes do not adequately address the issue.

VanEck recommended that Metaplanet reverse the roughly 273 million-share expansion created by the earlier adjustment clause and replace remaining rights with a shareholder-approved plan. The firm also suggested restructuring compensation to tie executive pay to Bitcoin per fully diluted share, rather than expanding when shares are issued for Bitcoin purchases.