The Tokyo-listed Bitcoin treasury firm shrank its share count, paid off bonds early, and lifted its Bitcoin buying budget to about $212 million
Metaplanet just spent roughly $160 million buying back its own stock. It also paid off a chunk of debt ahead of schedule and steered that freed-up money back toward Bitcoin.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed firm (TSE: 3350) repurchased 96,447,400 shares between October 14 and October 31. The total cost was ¥25.269 billion, or approximately $160 million.
The buyback, by the numbers
The repurchase falls under a program the board approved on October 13. That authorization lets Metaplanet buy back up to 200 million shares or ¥60 billion (roughly $380 million) worth of stock, with a deadline of October 2027.
With this first round, the company has used about 42% of that ¥60 billion ceiling. It burned through a big portion of a multi-month budget in under three weeks.
After the buyback, Metaplanet’s shares outstanding, excluding treasury shares, stand at approximately 1.2678 billion.
A smaller share base has a knock-on effect on who owns what. Capital Research and Management saw its voting stake rise to 11.11%, largely because the denominator shrank around it.
Paying off bonds early to buy more Bitcoin
The second piece of the move involved debt. Metaplanet redeemed ¥8 billion, around $51 million, of its 20th Series Ordinary Bonds ahead of schedule.
Rather than leave that capital idle, the company redirected it into its Bitcoin purchase budget. That brought the allocation earmarked for Bitcoin buys to ¥33.422 billion, or approximately $212 million.
As of September 30, Metaplanet held 44,000 BTC. The company’s average price on those coins was approximately $98,454 per BTC.
There is a wrinkle in the leverage picture. Metaplanet’s collateralized borrowing against its Bitcoin reached 17.7% of net asset value, above the company’s own internal guideline of 10%.
How Metaplanet got here
Metaplanet has built its strategy around holding Bitcoin as a primary treasury asset. The company’s stated approach is to keep 85-90% of its assets in Bitcoin.
The key metric for these firms is Bitcoin holdings per share. Buying more coins raises the numerator, while buying back stock shrinks the denominator. Metaplanet is now pulling on both levers at once.
What this means for shareholders and the treasury playbook
For existing shareholders, the immediate effect is concentration. Each remaining share now represents a slightly larger claim on the company’s assets, including its 44,000 BTC.
The leverage figure is the part worth watching most closely. Collateralized borrowing at 17.7% of net asset value, against a 10% internal guideline, means the company is running hotter than its own rulebook suggests.
Investors will want to see whether Metaplanet brings that ratio back toward its 10% target. Paying down the bonds early is one step in the debt column, though those were ordinary bonds rather than the collateralized borrowing tied to its Bitcoin.
The remaining room in the buyback program is the other thing to track. With about 42% of the ¥60 billion authorization used, the company has meaningful capacity left before the October 2027 deadline.
The shift in Capital Research and Management’s stake is also notable for governance. An 11.11% voting position gives a single institutional holder a louder voice at a company whose strategy depends heavily on shareholder buy-in for capital-raising decisions.
