Metaplanet Net Interest Income Strategy Targets Recurring Cash for Bitcoin Buys
Metaplanet introduced a net interest income strategy on Monday, saying it will invest capital in income-generating assets and use the resulting net interest to fund further Bitcoin accumulation and dividend payments. The Japanese investment and Bitcoin treasury company paired the plan with a revised capital allocation framework that allows as much as 15% of total assets to go into strategic investments.
The announcement matters because it formalizes how the Tokyo-listed company intends to keep adding to a treasury that stood at 44,000 BTC at the end of the third quarter, while relying less on continuous share sales. Under the revised policy, Bitcoin remains the core reserve asset at 85% to 90% of total assets, with the remaining 10% to 15% available for deals that advance its Bitcoin financial platform, investments that produce income, and funding for a planned asset management business.
How the net interest income strategy works
The net interest income strategy will be funded through perpetual preferred stock, corporate bonds the company calls "BitBonds," and a bitcoin-collateralized credit facility, according to The Block. Metaplanet said it will seek a spread between its funding costs and the returns on income-generating investments, and expects preferred securities from bitcoin treasury companies and comparable issuers to rank among its primary holdings.
The company said it will deploy capital into these investments only when the anticipated yield, once credit risk is accounted for, clears its total cost of capital by a sufficient margin, and that net interest margin will serve as the strategy's main performance indicator. Gerovich said the approach is intended to create recurring income streams and lower the firm's effective cost of capital.
Metaplanet plans to manage the borrowings against the cash flows produced by the assets using an asset-liability management framework, and to treat such borrowing as temporary funding before progressively converting it into permanent capital. Cash flow generated through these businesses is meant to support the company's financing capacity and eventually provide capital for additional Bitcoin purchases.
The company already operates an options-based bitcoin income generation business, which produced ¥848.4 million ($5.4 million) in revenue in the third quarter, it confirmed Monday. CoinDesk reported that the figure was down 51% from the prior quarter and 65% from a year earlier.
New capital allocation rules
Beyond the income plan, the revised framework sets tighter rules for how Metaplanet funds Bitcoin purchases. The company plans to fund most acquisitions with permanent equity capital, with perpetual preferred stock as a principal source, while borrowing against its bitcoin through the collateralized credit facility will generally stay under approximately 10% of the net asset value of its BTC holdings.
Issuance of common stock remains possible when the company's mNAV exceeds 1.0x, provided management judges that selling new shares would benefit current holders; the company calculates mNAV by dividing enterprise value by what its Bitcoin holdings are worth on the market. Should that ratio drop under 1.0x, management has the option of repurchasing shares to lift BTC Yield, a step it weighed in June when the ratio fell to 0.92x.
At Monday's close in Tokyo, Metaplanet traded at 0.80x its Bitcoin NAV, meaning investors were paying $0.80 for every $1 of Bitcoin it holds, according to tracking website Mnav.com. Shares closed 2% higher on Monday at 297 yen, or about $1.88, and are up more than 5.6% over the past five trading days, trimming a year-to-date decline that now stands at 26%, according to Yahoo Finance data cited by Cointelegraph.
Q3 sale and buyback lifted holdings to 44,000 BTC
The strategy rollout followed a third quarter in which Metaplanet sold 10,000 BTC and later bought back 11,000 BTC, ending the period with 44,000 BTC after a net increase of 1,000 BTC. The company sold the 10,000 BTC for ¥124.7 billion ($790 million) and repurchased 11,000 BTC for ¥149.9 billion ($950 million).
Metaplanet said the amount raised in the sale was greater than the combined outstanding principal of its bonds, borrowings and other interest-bearing debt once cash, cash equivalents and dollar-denominated stablecoins were taken into account, though it kept those obligations outstanding and later rebuilt the position. The company said the exercise was conducted to "demonstrate liquidity" as it pursues a credit rating and expands financing options to include bonds and preferred shares.
The round trip came at a cost: Metaplanet sold at an average of ¥12.47 million per BTC and bought back at ¥13.63 million, roughly 9% higher, putting the net cost of the added 1,000 BTC at ¥25.2 billion, according to Yahoo Finance. The Block reported the bitcoin was sold below its acquisition cost, creating a capital loss for U.S. tax purposes, and the company preliminarily estimates a deferred tax asset of roughly $97 million could be recognized by its subsidiaries, though auditors have yet to confirm whether recognition is possible.
The 44,000 BTC balance, valued at roughly $3.8 billion as of Sept. 30, ranks Metaplanet behind only Michael Saylor's Strategy among public bitcoin treasury companies, according to Bitcoin Treasuries data cited by The Block. The company has grown its holdings from 30,823 BTC when it established its original capital allocation policy in October 2025, and affirmed that Bitcoin remains its primary treasury reserve asset, pledging to expand its aggregate holdings as well as the amount of Bitcoin attributable to each share over the medium to long term.
Project Nova and the credit push
The strategic investment slice of the balance sheet also funds Project Nova, the framework Metaplanet is using to build financial businesses around its Bitcoin reserves. One piece is Metaplanet Securities, a brokerage holding a regulatory license that came into being through the 2.1 billion yen purchase of Siiibo Securities, completed in July; the unit provides an in-house channel for issuing and distributing corporate bonds, preferred stock and other financial products.
An August agreement saw Metaplanet pledge 2,100 BTC plus $2.5 million in cash to Nasdaq-listed Super League Enterprise, paid for with a package of common stock, Strategic Alliance Preferred Stock and additional securities. Once completed, Metaplanet would have the right to designate a majority of the company's board, and the U.S. firm is expected to become a bitcoin treasury company called Superplanet; Metaplanet expects the deal to close during the fourth quarter of 2026.
The company has already started prior consultations with the Tokyo Stock Exchange over a proposed listing of its preferred stock, and in August it rolled out the BitBonds program through four private placements of bonds worth roughly 200 million yen in total, distributed to eligible investors by Metaplanet Securities under Japan's private placement framework. Metaplanet plans to use cash flow from its strategic investments to demonstrate it can generate income from assets beyond its core BTC reserves, forming part of a broader effort to build its credit profile.
Gerovich said the company's ambition extends past accumulation. "From the beginning, our strategy was never simply to accumulate bitcoin," he said, describing a broader goal of becoming a leading bitcoin financial institution through growth in reserves, operating businesses, capital access and credit infrastructure. "Our objective has been to build the leading Bitcoin financial company in Asia," he said.
Governance scrutiny precedes the shift
The fundraising model arrives after shareholders raised concerns about Metaplanet's governance and complex capital structure. On Friday, the company issued five corrected securities filings clarifying that Gerovich does not hold majority voting rights in MMX Ventures, a Metaplanet shareholder.
A pseudonymous investor known as Bitcoin Pharaoh called on Metaplanet to disclose the identity of MMX Ventures' owner, explain the 23.8% stake recorded as indirectly held by Gerovich, and identify two unnamed executives who exercised 18.8 million shares from the Series 10 stock option pool. "Either the indirect holding is his, in which case the deleted sentence was closer to the truth, or it is not, in which case the correction is incomplete," the shareholder wrote in a Friday X post.
In early September, management drew criticism for expanding the Series 10 executive stock option pool almost sevenfold, from 46 million shares to 319.5 million. Metaplanet later moved to cut the pool by 41%, lowering the count of potential shares tied to the rights from 319.464 million down to 188.19 million — a reduction of 131.3 million — by moving the conversion ratio back to 1:410 from 1:696, restoring the level in place before its September 2025 international share offering.
Asset manager VanEck argued that much of the shareholder dilution had already occurred despite the cut, urging Metaplanet to reverse the 273 million additional shares and replace the remaining rights with a shareholder-approved compensation plan, Cointelegraph reported. The company disclosed on Aug. 31 that Gerovich exercised rights to acquire 92,000 shares under the Series 10 pool.
Conclusion
Metaplanet has set out a framework that keeps 85% to 90% of its assets in Bitcoin while directing up to 15% toward income-generating investments, acquisitions and its planned asset management business, funded through preferred stock, BitBonds and a bitcoin-collateralized credit facility. The company enters the fourth quarter holding 44,000 BTC, the second-largest public corporate bitcoin treasury, with its net interest income strategy now the designated engine for recurring cash flow to fund further accumulation and dividends.
The next concrete steps on the company's calendar are the expected fourth-quarter 2026 closing of the Super League transaction, which would give Metaplanet the right to designate a majority of that company's board, and its continuing prior consultations with the Tokyo Stock Exchange over a proposed listing of its preferred stock.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Metaplanet's net interest income strategy?
Unveiled Monday, the strategy invests capital raised through perpetual preferred stock, corporate bonds called "BitBonds" and a bitcoin-collateralized credit facility into income-generating assets. Metaplanet aims to earn a spread between its funding costs and investment returns, using the net interest to fund further Bitcoin accumulation and dividend payments, with net interest margin as the main performance indicator.
How much Bitcoin does Metaplanet hold after Q3 2026?
Metaplanet ended the third quarter with 44,000 BTC as of Sept. 30, valued at roughly $3.8 billion, after selling 10,000 BTC and buying back 11,000 BTC for a net gain of 1,000 BTC. The balance makes it the second-largest public bitcoin treasury company after Michael Saylor's Strategy, according to Bitcoin Treasuries data.
Why did Metaplanet sell 10,000 BTC and buy back 11,000 BTC?
The company said the third-quarter round trip was conducted to "demonstrate liquidity," showing credit rating agencies and fixed-income investors it is able and willing to convert bitcoin into cash. The sale proceeds exceeded the outstanding principal of its bonds and other interest-bearing liabilities, which were left outstanding, and the company later repurchased more than it sold.
What changed in Metaplanet's capital allocation policy?
The revised policy keeps 85% to 90% of total assets in Bitcoin while allowing 10% to 15% for strategic investments, including acquisitions, income-producing assets and a planned asset management business. Most Bitcoin purchases will be funded with permanent equity, bitcoin-backed borrowing is generally capped near 10% of BTC net asset value, and new common stock is issued only when mNAV exceeds 1.0x.
What is the Super League deal and when will it close?
In August, Metaplanet agreed to commit 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million in cash for common stock, Strategic Alliance Preferred Stock and other securities in Nasdaq-listed Super League Enterprise, which is expected to become a U.S. bitcoin treasury company called Superplanet. Metaplanet would gain the right to designate a majority of the board and expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Sources
- Metaplanet caps Bitcoin borrowing as BTC holdings reach 44,000
- Metaplanet reveals net income strategy to fuel Bitcoin accumulation
- Metaplanet Sells 10,000 Bitcoin, Buys 11,000 Back to Prove Liquidity
- Metaplanet sold 10,000 BTC in Q3 before buying back 11,000 BTC to ‘demonstrate liquidity’
- Metaplanet’s new Bitcoin allocation targets 85%-90% of total assets
- Metaplanet Sold 10,000 Bitcoin and Bought Back 11,000 to Prove a Point
- Metaplanet boosts Bitcoin holdings to 44,000 BTC after third-quarter trades
- Metaplanet's 44,000 Bitcoin Bet Just Got a New 15% Rule
- Metaplanet Adds Net 1,000 BTC in Third Quarter, Bringing Holdings to 44,000
