Simon Gerovich, the CEO of the bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet (3350), has replied to backlash concerning the enterprise’s executive compensation package and his stake in MMXX Ventures, a corporate shareholder.
During a Sunday post on X, Gerovich conceded that the Tokyo-based Metaplanet “had not done a good enough job” clarifying the stock remuneration scheme known as Series 10 Stock Acquisition Rights. He additionally identified himself as a “significant but non-majority shareholder” within the parent company of MMXX while emphasizing he held zero influence over its trading choices, as investors demanded heightened transparency.
The dispute traces back to December 2022, prior to Metaplanet shifting to a bitcoin treasury focus, when the organization initiated the stock rights program. Rather than awarding staff a static quantity of equities, the framework instituted an incentive pool totaling 20% of Metaplanet’s fully diluted share capital.
Following the firm’s strategic pivot toward acquiring bitcoin in April 2024, every instance of Metaplanet issuing fresh stock to expand its reserves resulted in current stakeholders facing dilution, while Gerovich’s potential option rewards scaled upward.
Back in August, Metaplanet terminated the floating reward-pool expansion and locked the amount of eligible reward shares at roughly 320 million. Crucially, the company refrained from resetting the compensation pool back to the size it was when they adopted the bitcoin strategy. These developments brought intense focus to the incentive scheme and stirred widespread digital criticism.
“The fix in August was a step in the right direction,” wrote one shareholder writing under the pseudonym The Bitcoin Pharaoh on X. “But ‘we can do better’ is a promise about the future, and the questions above are about what already happened. Answer them, name the owners of MMXX, and unwind the pool to where it stood at the pivot.”
Another participant, known as Ragnar, commented: “Conclusion: There is no choice but to cancel the additional 273 million shares and replace them with a new incentive program applied retroactively.” MMXX executed multiple well-documented open-market equity disposals in the months following the bitcoin treasury announcement.
As noted by The BTC Pharaoh, the entity liquidated approximately 50 million shares during the 2024 market rally concurrently with Metaplanet conducting public equity raises.
Although Metaplanet has revealed Gerovich’s voting authority over MMXX, the company has omitted public disclosures concerning the specific economic gains he derived personally from the organization’s stock disposals.
Ever since implementing the bitcoin treasury model in April 2024, Metaplanet’s equity valuation climbed from roughly 20 yen (13 cents) up to nearly 2,000 yen, representing an apex surge exceeding 10,000%, though it has subsequently dropped 85% below its June 2025 record high.
On August 18, the directors of Metaplanet eliminated the variable adjustment mechanism of the plan, fixed the Series 10 pool at 319,464,000 equities, and enforced a mandatory five-year lock-up period.
Within an official regulatory filing, the firm conceded that the prior system “amplifies the dilution borne by existing shareholders.” Nevertheless, the pool remained frozen at its expanded capacity instead of reverting to the baseline volume present when Metaplanet commenced its bitcoin accumulation strategy.
On August 28, Gerovich exercised 92,000 Series 10 rights, acquiring 64 million fresh shares. An August 31 filing indicates he currently maintains an aggregate of 79,587,500 common shares, representing roughly 6.2% of the overall total.
Evaluations of public documents compiled by Bitcoin Pharaoh reveal that Gerovich and MMXX together command an aggregate interest exceeding 27% of Metaplanet’s fully diluted share supply.
Metaplanet equities dropped 7% on Monday as continuous scrutiny surrounding the remuneration framework persisted. Their year-to-date valuation has retreated 43%, whereas the Nikkei 225 index advanced 31%.
Throughout the preceding month, bitcoin climbed 23%, tracking relatively close to Metaplanet’s trajectory. Still, alternative bitcoin treasury enterprises demonstrated superior results, with MicroStrategy (MSTR) gaining 40% and Strive (ASST) rocketing 114%.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/09/08/metaplanet-ceo-breaks-silence-but-shareholders-say-the-hard-questions-remain-unanswered.
