Metaplanet said it will cut the potential share count tied to its Series 10 stock acquisition rights by 41%, reducing the pool from roughly 319.5 million shares to 188.2 million. The move reverses an executive compensation structure that had drawn weeks of criticism from the company’s own shareholders.
CEO Simon Gerovich said the change removes more than $220 million in warrant value.
Conversion ratio reset to pre-September 2025 level
Each Series 10 right allows the holder to buy shares at a discounted price of 10 yen per share. As Metaplanet issued stock to fund bitcoin purchases, each right had expanded to convert into 696 shares.
The board has now reset that figure to 410 shares, the level in effect immediately before the company’s international share offering in September 2025. Metaplanet identified that point as the moment when its capital raises stopped being strongly accretive.
Remaining warrants will vest between 2029 and 2031
The warrants that remain outstanding will become exercisable in three equal tranches in 2029, 2030, and 2031. Shares received through exercise will stay locked up until August 2031.
A separate plan to move 20% of the warrants into a new employee incentive pool has been dropped, and those rights were canceled as part of the 41% reduction.
Bitcoin per fully diluted share rises about 8.8%
For shareholders, the immediate effect is that bitcoin per fully diluted share increases by about 8.8% without the company buying a single additional coin.
The warrant pool had been sized as a percentage of fully diluted capital rather than as a fixed grant. That meant every capital raise used to buy bitcoin increased insiders’ claim while diluting other shareholders. The pool had grown from roughly 46 million shares to about 319 million.
Some investor concerns remain
The concessions fall short of what some investors had wanted. Gerovich, who recused himself as a Series 10 holder, still keeps the 64 million shares he received through an Aug. 28 exercise under the old terms, along with the right to acquire another 49.1 million shares. The announcement also did not address his economic interest in MMXX Ventures.
Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital assets research, calculated that Gerovich is giving up roughly 79 million shares worth about $123 million. Sigel described the revision as a meaningful realignment of management and shareholder interests.
Stock has fallen more than 43% this year
Metaplanet shares are down more than 43% this year, compared with a roughly 15% decline in bitcoin and a 20% drop in Strategy. In the week before the announcement, the stock fell about 17% over two sessions after Gerovich’s first response failed to satisfy investors.
The company said it will work with an outside consultant to design a replacement compensation program.