Key Takeaways
- Metaplanet announced a new capital structure on Thursday, Nov. 20.
- Following Strategy’s lead, Metaplanet is pivoting to an alternative funding model based on preferred stock.
- Many Bitcoin treasury firms are sitting on significant paper losses.
Like many of its digital asset treasury (DAT) peers, the latest market downturn has left Metaplanet sitting on significant unrealized losses as Bitcoin spirals toward $80,000.
However, rather than letting panic set in, the firm is looking to raise $150 million to fund additional purchases.
Eighteen months after acquiring its first BTC, the proposed capital restructuring completes Metaplanet’s transformation into Asia’s MicroStrategy.
Following Strategy
In the first stage of its Bitcoin treasury journey, Metaplanet raised cash by issuing large quantities of common stock warrants.
This approach allowed Metaplanet to raise significant capital, but introduced dilution for existing common shareholders.
The challenge is analogous to one previously faced by Strategy.
Although the American firm used convertible notes rather than acquisition rights, both fundraising mechanisms had a similarly dilutive effect.
In 2025, Strategy has pivoted to preferred stock issuance, introducing a range of convertible and non-convertible preferred share classes, each with different dividend profiles.
Looking to emulate the model, on Thursday, Nov. 20, Metaplanet announced a new two-tier capital structure based on the preferred stocks, MARS and MERCURY.
The senior Class A instrument, MARS, pays an adjustable monthly dividend, with no conversion rights into common stock.
Meanwhile, MERCURY pays a fixed dividend rate of 4.9% annually, with the option to convert to common stock for 1,000 JPY per share.
Market Downturn Leaves Metaplanet in the Red
Having purchased BTC at an average price of $108,036 according to bitcointreasuries.net, Metaplanet is currently more than 23% down on its investment.
Other firms sitting on paper losses include Trump Media and Gemini.
With BTC at $83,000, 72 corporate Bitcoin holders tracked by bitcointreasuries.net have seen the value of their assets fall below cost basis.
In a sector built on debt, recent bearishness has sparked fears of a market bubble, and some of the more speculative DAT plays have already been severely punished by investors.
Even Strategy, often seen as the industry’s gold standard, has seen its premium shrink despite reassurances from Chairman Michael Saylor.
As the market continues to slide, fixed income securities like MERCURY could be the first casualty if treasury companies are forced to defer divident payments.
However, in the worst-case scenario of a bankruptcy, prefered shareholders would be satisfied before common shareholders.
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James Morales is CCN’s blockchain and crypto policy reporter. He has been working in the news media since 2020, writing about topics such as payments, banking and financial technology. These days, he likes to explore the latest blockchain innovations and the evolving landscape of global crypto regulation.
With an educational background in social anthropology and media studies, James uses his platform as a journalist to explore how new technologies work, why they matter and how they might shape our future.
