Metaplanet Shares Fell 17% After the CEO Responded to Criticism of the Options Program

• Metaplanet shares lost about 17% over the two trading sessions on September 7 and 8.
• The drop was preceded by criticism of the Series 10 options program and CEO Simon Gerovich receiving more than 64 million shares.
• On September 6, the company’s head publicly responded to investors, but his explanations did not ease concerns about dilution.
• Additional questions were raised by Gerovich’s ties to major shareholder MMXX Ventures.

Shares of Japan’s Metaplanet fell by about 17% over two trading sessions, according to TradingView. This came after CEO Simon Gerovich’s public response to criticism of the executive compensation program failed to convince some investors. 

On September 7, the company’s securities fell 7.5%, and on September 8 — another 9.9%, closing at 244 yen. Bitcoin’s price action over the same period was much calmer, which may point to the sell-off being driven primarily by company-specific factors. 

The source of the backlash was the Series 10 options program. It was approved back in December 2022, but it only returned to the spotlight in August 2026.

Initially, the number of shares available under the program was automatically adjusted to equal 20% of the company’s fully diluted capital. As Metaplanet issued new shares to raise funds, including for bitcoin purchases, the size of the options pool grew from about 46 million to 319.46 million potential shares.

On August 18, the board of directors changed the program’s terms. The mechanism for further automatic adjustments was scrapped, but the already-formed volume of 319.46 million shares was retained. In addition, a five-year restriction on selling and transferring shares obtained through option exercises was introduced.

This proved insufficient to put investors’ concerns to rest. Some shareholders insisted that the company should not merely stop further expansion of the pool, but reduce it to the level that existed before the large-scale share issuance under its bitcoin strategy, The Block noted. 

Additional criticism was sparked by Gerovich’s own actions. On August 28, he exercised part of the Series 10 options and received 64.032 million shares. Metaplanet disclosed details of the transaction on August 31.

After that, the debate around the program intensified. Investors pointed out that the company had acknowledged the problem of the pool’s automatic expansion, yet the CEO still exercised rights created under the previous mechanism.

What Did Simon Gerovich Say in Response?

On September 6, Gerovich publicly commented on the situation. He acknowledged that Metaplanet had not done a good enough job explaining to shareholders how the compensation program works and its corporate governance decisions.

The CEO said the company intends to improve communication with investors and will continue to review its approach to executive compensation.

However, his comment did not include a decision to cancel part of the already created option pool. That remained one of the key demands from the program’s critics, CoinDesk writes.

In parallel, investors demanded additional clarification regarding MMXX Ventures — one of Metaplanet’s major shareholders. Gerovich said he holds a significant, but non-controlling stake in MMXX’s parent entity, does not hold an executive position there, and does not participate in the company’s investment or trading decisions.

Nevertheless, questions about the ownership structure and the nature of the relationship between the parties remained.

Against this backdrop, in the very next trading sessions — September 7 and 8 — Metaplanet shares lost about 17% in total.

As Incrypted previously reported, Metaplanet is pursuing a bitcoin treasury strategy and ranks among the largest publicly traded corporate holders of the leading cryptocurrency. In August, the company also refuted speculation that it had sold part of its BTC, explaining the large coin movement as an internal account rebalancing.

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