Metaplanet’s $500M Bitcoin Bet: Share Buyback Targets Premium Gap Fix
Tokyo's Metaplanet drops half-billion dollar bomb to close Bitcoin valuation chasm.
The Premium Problem
That stubborn gap between Bitcoin's market price and corporate holdings just got a $500 million solution. Metaplanet's board approved massive share repurchase program—funding it entirely through existing Bitcoin reserves.
Corporate Treasury Warfare
They're not just buying back shares. They're weaponizing Bitcoin against traditional valuation metrics. Every repurchased share tightens the premium spread—forcing markets to acknowledge what they've been ignoring.
Balance Sheet Alchemy
Watch corporate treasury teams scramble. Metaplanet just demonstrated how to transform digital assets into shareholder value without selling a single satoshi. Meanwhile, traditional finance still debates whether Bitcoin belongs on balance sheets at all—classic.
When your corporate strategy makes Wall Street analysts look like they're reading cave paintings, you're either crazy or early. Metaplanet's betting heavily on the latter.
Quarter of Bitcoin Treasuries Now Trade at Discount
Metaplanet’s challenges are part of a broader crisis affecting digital asset treasury companies worldwide, with K33 Research reporting that 26 of 168 Bitcoin-holding firms now trade below their net asset values from last month.
Industry-wide premiums compressed from an average of 3.76x in April to 2.8x currently, while daily Bitcoin accumulation by treasury companies slowed to just 1,428 tokens in September, the weakest pace since May.
NAKA, the merger vehicle of KindlyMD and Nakamoto Holdings, plummeted 96% from its peak and now trades at just 0.7x net asset value after previously commanding a 75x premium.
Other prominent firms, including Twenty One, Semler Scientific, and The Smarter Web Company, have also fallen short of their Bitcoin holdings.
Metaplanet shares reached all-time highs in mid-June but have declined approximately 70%, currently trading at 499 yen, up 2.2% today.
Mark Chadwick, a Japan equity analyst publishing on Smartkarma, characterized the downturn as “a popping of a bubble,” noting that the “general euphoria” surrounding Bitcoin stockpiling has cooled significantly.
However, he believed “long-term Bitcoin bulls” may view the discount as a buying opportunity.
Credit Facility for Capital Deployment
The newly established credit facility provides a maximum borrowing capacity of $500 million, collateralized by Bitcoin, enabling share repurchases while maintaining flexibility for additional Bitcoin acquisitions and investments in its BTC Income business.
The facility serves as bridge financing for a planned future issuance of preferred shares as part of Metaplanet’s broader capital allocation strategy aimed at reaching its long-term objective of acquiring 210,000 Bitcoin by the end of 2027.
Management acknowledged that rising market volatility and declining valuations have caused the stock price to inadequately reflect intrinsic economic value despite advancing its Bitcoin Treasury Strategy since April.
The repurchase program targets periods when the enterprise value-to-Bitcoin holdings ratio falls below 1.0x, allowing the company to reduce share count and increase Bitcoin ownership per remaining share.
The downturn coincided with severe market turmoil that saw crypto traders face record $19 billion in liquidations on October 10 after President Trump announced harsher tariffs on China, triggering volatility that sent Bitcoin to a six-month low near $101,000.
Treasuries Entering a Competitive Phase
The corporate crypto treasury movement has reached a critical inflection point, transitioning from guaranteed premiums to what Coinbase Research describes as a “” competitive phase where companies must differentiate through strategic positioning rather than simply accumulating digital assets.
Short-selling firm Kerrisdale Capital has aggressively targeted overvalued treasury companies, calling business models that issue shares to buy tokens ““
Kerrisdale estimated that Strategy’s $100 billion market capitalization, trading above its $60 billion in Bitcoin holdings, creates an “” premium that sophisticated investors are beginning to arbitrage.
However, Strategy shares have gained over 3,000% since initiating Bitcoin purchases in mid-2020.
Despite widespread caution, some firms continue aggressive accumulation, with American Bitcoin and Strategy collectively purchasing over $205 million in Bitcoin during the past 48 hours.
Strategy acquired 390 tokens between October 20 and October 26 at an average price of $111,117, bringing total holdings to 640,808 Bitcoin.
David Duong, Coinbase’s Global Head of Investment Research, warned that concentration risks persist as “the biggest discretionary balance sheets are sidelined,” making the market “more fragile” in the short term.
