Metaplanet hands its bitcoin buying to preferred stock under a 10% borrowing cap

The 10% ceiling, as crypto.news reports the Oct. 5 disclosure, applies to bitcoin-related borrowing through Metaplanet's collateralized credit facility ^[10]. Against a balance sheet that is 85% to 90% bitcoin ^[1], borrowing under 10% of the coins comes to under roughly 8.5% to 9% of total assets ^[16]. As a limit on a credit line, that is modest. Perpetual preferred is named as a principal source of the permanent equity that will buy bitcoin ^[3]. It counts as equity on the policy's own terms, and I would still add it to the bonds when sizing the claims paid before the common shareholder. The report does not say whether the bonds and preferred raised for the income strategy ^[7] count toward the 10% limit, or how much of either is outstanding.

Gerovich said the third-quarter exercise converted enough bitcoin into cash to exceed the outstanding principal of the company's bonds, borrowings and other interest-bearing debt ^[12]. The company then bought back more than it sold, he said, for a net 1,000 BTC ^[13]. Holdings stood at 43,000 in July after a 2,823-coin purchase ^[14], so the net change to Sept. 30 equals the coins the round trip added ^[17].

The 13,177 coins added since the first policy are a rise of about 43% ^[18]. Management still asks to be judged per share: BTC Yield, the growth in bitcoin holdings per share, stays one of its main performance measures ^[9]. Gerovich said the Sept. 30 balance makes Metaplanet the second-largest listed bitcoin treasury company ^[20].

The valuation question sits in the mNAV denominator. Metaplanet defines mNAV as enterprise value divided by the market value of its bitcoin ^[4], and it may sell common stock when the ratio is above 1.0x and management judges the sale good for existing holders ^[3]. Suppose the 10% to 15% sleeve fills with businesses and securities, not cash, and the market pays book value for them plus spot for the coins. mNAV then reads about 1.11x to 1.18x ^[19] with no premium on the bitcoin. Buybacks were previously framed around readings below 1.0x, such as June's 0.92x ^[5]. With the new above-1.0x allowance ^[6], management can now argue for issuing and for buying back inside the same band.

In the best case the sleeve stays small and earns more than its funding costs. Metaplanet then trades as bitcoin plus a modest operating business, built through Metaplanet Securities and a proposed investment in U.S.-based Super League Enterprise under Project Nova ^[15]. The worse case for common holders is that preferred and bond issuance outruns the credit line, so senior claims grow while the 10% ratio holds still. A third path runs through the eligible list: it includes preferred securities issued by other bitcoin treasury companies ^[8], and income from those depends on the same coin price as the reserve.

I think the capped-leverage description fits the credit facility and has not yet been shown for the balance sheet as a whole. A disclosure putting preferred stock and bonds together in single digits as a share of BTC NAV would prove that view too cautious.