Metaplanet Shareholders Clash With Boss Over Bitcoin Pay Plan

Tokyo listed crypto treasury firm Metaplanet is facing strong pushback from shareholders over a massive executive compensation windfall. The controversy stems from a stock options plan approved in early 2023, long before the company pivoted to digital assets. As the firm repeatedly issued new equity to fund its large Bitcoin purchases, a built in adjustment mechanism automatically expanded the executive options pool from 46 million to nearly 320 million potential shares.

Friction peaked in August when CEO Simon Gerovich exercised part of his award, turning 92,000 rights into more than 64 million newly issued shares. While those shares carry a five year lockup restricting sales until 2031, the issuance triggered heavy dilution. Although Metaplanet abolished the adjustment mechanism in August to cap future expansion, it froze the compensation pool at its inflated size rather than rolling it back to the original 46 million shares, leaving roughly 273 million extra potential shares on the table.

Investors are particularly worried about how this compensation overhang impacts the company's core treasury metric of Bitcoin per fully diluted share. Shareholders are now openly demanding the outright cancellation of the extra shares to protect their stakes and boost per share metrics. Traders will watch closely to see if management responds to mounting governance pressure and rolls back the contested awards.