Metaplanet cut its Series 10 executive stock acquisition rights pool by 41% after shareholders objected to dilution tied to its bitcoin-buying strategy. The change extinguishes more than $220 million in warrant value, though shares already exercised by CEO Simon Gerovich stay in place. The Tokyo-listed firm also confirmed a new Hong Kong trading subsidiary the same day.
Metaplanet cut the size of its Series 10 stock acquisition rights pool by 41% to 188.2 million shares, following weeks of shareholder anger over executive dilution. CEO Simon Gerovich said the move extinguishes more than $220 million of warrant value that the prior structure had produced for management at shareholders' expense.
Why the pool grew in the first place
When Metaplanet set up the plan in 2022, it tied the reward pool to 20% of the company's fully diluted share capital rather than a fixed share count. That structure ballooned as Metaplanet issued new shares to fund its bitcoin purchases after 2024, and investors said it diluted their holdings while enlarging management's stake. According to CoinDesk: "We never intended to incentivise non-accretive or modestly accretive dilution", Gerovich said.
Cointelegraph reported the pool drops from 319.464 million to 188.19 million shares, reached by resetting the conversion ratio from 1:696 back to 1:410, the level in place before the company's September 2025 international share offering. The adjustment should increase Metaplanet's bitcoin holdings per fully diluted share by about 8.8%, Gerovich said.
Executive holdings stay untouched
However, the 64 million shares Gerovich received through his Aug. 28 rights exercise under the old terms are not being returned. He also retains the right to acquire a further 49,128,000 shares under the revised structure, and made no reference to MMXX Ventures or his personal economic interest in the shareholder, on which investors had also sought clarity.
Metaplanet withdrew a previously announced plan to move warrants into an employee incentive vehicle and will design a new compensation plan with external advisers instead. Remaining unvested rights face added restrictions, with one-third becoming exercisable in each of 2029, 2030 and 2031, Cointelegraph reported.
A Hong Kong arm the same day
Metaplanet also confirmed plans to form Metaplanet Asset Management Asia Limited in Hong Kong with $1 million in initial capital, to trade bitcoin, equities and credit products during Asian market hours. The entity is part of the company's "Project Nova" initiative to build a bitcoin-centered financial services platform.
Sources: CoinDesk, Cointelegraph.com News
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