Metaplanet Shareholders Revolt Over Executive Stock Pool — SkimNews
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- Metaplanet froze its executive stock pool at 319.5 million shares on Aug. 18 after it grew from 46 million shares, a change the company itself acknowledged 'amplifies the dilution borne by existing shareholders.'
- Pseudonymous shareholder Bitcoin Pharaoh alleged strategic board advisor David Bailey received 300,000 stock options at a 105-yen strike price while the stock traded at 510 yen, roughly a fifth of the market price.
- Bitcoin Pharaoh calculated that management captured 26% of every Bitcoin acquired with shareholder funds — 'of every four coins the shareholders' money bought, management took one.'
- CEO Simon Gerovich pledged to review Metaplanet's governance and compensation policies while distancing himself from shareholder MMXX Ventures, saying he is a significant but non-majority shareholder in MMXX's parent company and holds no executive role.
- On Aug. 31, Metaplanet revealed Gerovich exercised 92,000 shares from the 10th Series executive options pool even as the controversy mounted.
- VanEck head of digital asset research Matthew Sigel recommended Metaplanet freeze remaining Series 10 exercise rights, have holders voluntarily surrender excess rights, and replace the pool with a shareholder-approved five-year incentive plan 'tied primarily to BTC per fully diluted share.'
- Metaplanet shares closed up in Wednesday Tokyo trading, trimming a five-day decline of roughly 16.3%.
Why it matters: Metaplanet's executive pool expansion from 46 million to 319.5 million shares created a 273-million-share overhang that the company itself admitted magnified dilution — and with Gerovich already exercising 92,000 shares, the governance concerns are unresolved. If VanEck's recommended BTC-per-share incentive plan is not adopted, investors who treat Metaplanet as a clean Bitcoin proxy face continued dilution on a stock already down 16.3% over five days.
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