Metaplanet's bitcoin treasury costs $45M, unrealized loss hits $1B

Operating a bitcoin treasury company has cost Metaplanet more than $45 million, and the firm is sitting on an unrealized loss of $1 billion from its BTC investments.

The Japanese firm, which copied Michael Saylor's Strategy, bought its bitcoin at a much higher average price than Strategy's $75,385 cost basis. Specifically, it paid 36% more per coin.

Metaplanet spent $4.41 billion acquiring 43,000 BTC, with an average cost of $102,502 per bitcoin.

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Bitcoin closed Friday at roughly $77,600. That means Metaplanet's investment has lost 24%, performing worse than simply holding cash in a bank account as a corporate treasury.

Since April 2024, when Metaplanet began buying bitcoin, its fiscal reports show at least ¥7 billion ($45 million) in expenses for running its treasury operations. That figure includes ¥4.5 billion in issuance costs, ¥1.9 billion in interest on its BTC-backed credit line, ¥298 million in dividends to preferred shareholders who funded BTC purchases, and ¥4.8 billion in selling, general, and administrative costs.

The expenses total at least $45 million, but could exceed $70 million when SG&A costs are allocated to bitcoin investment activities versus other operations.

Metaplanet's bitcoin holdings show $1 billion unrealized loss

Metaplanet's common stock has roughly tripled since management first made heavy BTC purchases in October 2024, but shareholders have seen big swings. The stock has gained since 2024, yet ended the weekend 82% below its June 2025 peak.

In summer 2024, Metaplanet issued traditional coupon-bearing bonds to buy bitcoin, but by late 2024 and into 2025, it shifted to more exotic zero-coupon bonds coupled with moving-strike warrants as it boosted financial leverage.

As Metaplanet bought more BTC without raising cash payments to bondholders, common shareholders bore more of the financing costs through an overhang of dilutive convertible securities.

The low-cash strategy eventually reversed when Metaplanet went back to traditional borrowing. By June 30, 2026, it had used 83% of its $500 million BTC-backed credit line, drawing $414 million.

To ensure sufficient cash, Metaplanet's interest costs surged. In Q1 2026 alone, interest expense hit ¥934 million, over 300 times the ¥3 million it paid in the first half of 2025.

With climbing interest costs and shareholders less willing to accept further dilution to support an investment that is over $1 billion in the red, Metaplanet's stock has fallen 14% year to date, 61% over the past year, and 82% from its June 2025 high.