Japanese company Metaplanet lost approximately 17% of its share value over two trading sessions on September 7 and 8, 2026, after CEO Simon Gerovich publicly commented on the expansion of the Series 10 options program. As Crypto News reports, on September 6, Gerovich acknowledged that the company had not explained the executive compensation system and the structure of its ties to major shareholder MMXX Ventures well enough to shareholders, but did not address the investors' key demand — the cancellation of the expanded options share pool.
The Series 10 program was approved by the board of directors back in December 2022, but came back into the spotlight only in August 2026. Initially, the number of shares available under the program was automatically adjusted to correspond to approximately 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 approximately 46 million to 319.46 million potential shares. On August 18, the board of directors amended the program's terms: the automatic adjustment mechanism was discontinued, but the already-formed volume of 319.464 million shares was retained. A five-year lock-up restriction on the sale and transfer of new shares received through options exercise was introduced, effective until August 17, 2031. Two days later, on August 28, Gerovich exercised 92,000 Series 10 rights and received 64.032 million shares, increasing his direct stake to 79.587 million shares. A shareholder known as Bitcoin Pharaoh calculated that 273 million potential shares in the pool had appeared specifically due to the automatic adjustment following the adoption of the Bitcoin strategy, though Metaplanet did not recognize this figure as an official calculation.
Gerovich's response did not allay investor concerns. He stated that he holds a significant but non-controlling stake in the parent entity MMXX Ventures, holds no executive position within it, and takes no part in its investment or trading decisions — but he did not provide full disclosure of MMXX's ownership structure. Rather than canceling part of the pool or reducing it to the level that existed prior to the large-scale share issuance under the Bitcoin strategy, the company only promised to improve investor communication and continue reviewing its approach to compensation. According to The Block, the share price decline was preceded by criticism of the program and the CEO's own actions, and since Bitcoin's performance during this period was significantly calmer, the move appears to be predominantly corporate in nature. The company, meanwhile, continues to execute its Bitcoin treasury strategy and ranks among the largest publicly listed corporate holders of the leading cryptocurrency, having expanded its reserves to 43,000 BTC. In addition, Metaplanet has committed to allocating 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million to the proposed U.S. Bitcoin Treasury platform involving Super League, making corporate governance transparency all the more critical for investors evaluating both Bitcoin exposure and the securities used to finance the broader strategy.