Metaplanet CEO addresses shareholder concerns over stock options and governance structure

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich addressed shareholder backlash over corporate governance, admitting the firm failed to adequately explain its Series 10 stock option pool and his ties to major shareholder MMXX Ventures. While Metaplanet capped the option pool at 319.46 million shares and imposed a five-year lock-up, investors remain unsatisfied. Shareholders are demanding the cancellation of 273 million shares added via dilution-linked adjustments, causing Metaplanet's stock to fall 7.5% to 271 yen.

Series 10 option pool expansion

• ▪The Series 10 option pool originally represented approximately 46 million shares but expanded to 319.46 million shares due to a floating adjustment mechanism that maintained the pool at roughly 20% of Metaplanet Inc.'s fully diluted share count.
• ▪On August 18, 2026, the Metaplanet Inc. Board of Directors amended the Series 10 terms to eliminate the floating adjustment mechanism and freeze the remaining potential issuance at 319,464,000 shares.
• ▪Metaplanet Inc. established its Series 10 Stock Acquisition Rights program on December 28, 2022, under its former name Red Planet Japan, Inc., with shareholders approving the terms on February 7, 2023.

Gerovich MMXX ownership disclosure

• ▪Metaplanet Inc. CEO Simon Gerovich denied holding any director or officer role at MMXX Ventures Limited and stated he has no involvement in the firm's investment or trading decisions.
• ▪Metaplanet Inc. CEO Simon Gerovich stated on September 6, 2026, that he is a significant but non-majority shareholder of MMXX Ventures Limited's parent company, MMXX Capital Limited.
• ▪MMXX Ventures Limited is a British Virgin Islands company established on February 10, 2022, with $1 million in stated capital, and is 100% owned by MMXX Capital Limited with Mark Reinecke serving as director.

Shareholder transparency demands

• ▪Metaplanet Inc. shares fell approximately 7.5% to close at 271 yen on September 7, 2026, the trading session immediately following CEO Simon Gerovich's public response to shareholder criticism.
• ▪Metaplanet Inc. shareholders, including pseudonymous investors The Bitcoin Pharaoh and Ragnar, publicly demanded that the company cancel the additional 273 million shares created by the Series 10 adjustment mechanism and fully disclose MMXX Ventures Limited's ownership.

Five-year transfer restrictions

• ▪The August 18, 2026 amendment imposed a five-year lock-up restricting the sale or transfer of shares received upon exercising Series 10 rights from August 18, 2026, through August 17, 2031.
• ▪On August 28, 2026, Metaplanet Inc. CEO Simon Gerovich exercised 92,000 Series 10 rights to receive 64,032,000 common shares, increasing his direct holdings to 79,587,500 shares, representing approximately 6.2% of the company's common stock.

Metaplanet Bitcoin treasury holdings

• ▪As of June 30, 2026, Metaplanet Inc. held 43,000 BTC, which was acquired at a cumulative cost of ¥659.256 billion, averaging ¥15,331,542 per BTC.
• ▪Metaplanet Inc. committed 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million to launch a proposed United States Bitcoin treasury platform in partnership with Nasdaq-listed Super League.

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