A major US fund manager is increasing its stake in Asia’s largest publicly traded Bitcoin holder, even as the company grapples with massive paper losses and a potential exclusion from Japan’s premier stock index. Capital Group’s American Funds EUPAC Fund recently disclosed it boosted its Metaplanet position by 2.79 million shares, bringing its total holding to 3.85 million shares valued at approximately $8.8 million. This institutional vote of confidence arrives at a critical juncture for the Tokyo-listed firm.
The company’s aggressive Bitcoin accumulation strategy resulted in a staggering loss of 96.1 billion yen for the fiscal year 2025, equivalent to roughly $619 million. Nearly the entire sum stemmed from a 102.2 billion yen Bitcoin valuation adjustment booked as an extraordinary expense. Despite the red ink on the bottom line, operational performance showed strength, with revenue climbing to 8.9 billion yen and operating profit reaching 6.3 billion yen. The firm’s unrealized book loss on its crypto holdings is estimated at $1.5 billion.
Metaplanet’s financing model is drawing intense scrutiny. The company has relied heavily on partnerships, notably with the Evo Fund led by Michael Lerch, using successive series of share purchase warrants to fund its Bitcoin acquisitions. This approach provides liquidity but creates significant share price volatility, with market observers labeling it a form of “death-spiral financing” where new share issues depress the price, necessitating further capital raises. In March 2026, the board authorized the issuance of approximately 107 million new shares alongside the 26th and 27th warrant series.
A new threat now looms from the Japan Exchange Group, which is considering excluding companies with over 50% of their balance sheet in cryptocurrencies from the TOPIX index. For Metaplanet, this could block its anticipated inclusion following an index restructuring in October 2026. Such an exclusion would deny the company a crucial source of passive capital from index-tracking funds. The potential impact is severe, as demonstrated when MSCI contemplated similar rules for MicroStrategy, triggering a sharp share price decline from $365 to $147 before the plans were shelved.
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CEO Simon Gerovich has stated the company respects the exchange’s procedures and will engage actively, while affirming the Bitcoin strategy remains unchanged. The firm’s goals are undeterred: it aims to hold 100,000 Bitcoin by the end of 2026 and 210,000 BTC by 2027. Currently the world’s third-largest public Bitcoin holder, Metaplanet is also expanding beyond simple accumulation. It recently established two subsidiaries for regulated investment products and launched Metaplanet Ventures, an investment arm earmarked to deploy about 4 billion yen into crypto infrastructure like payment solutions, custody, and stablecoins.
To diversify its investor base and reduce reliance on the Japanese market, Metaplanet is making a concerted push for US investment. Since April 13, 2026, depositary bank Deutsche Bank has waived the typical ADR issuance fee of up to $0.05 per certificate for a 60-day period ending June 12. This move lowers transaction costs for American retail and institutional investors who would otherwise face significant hurdles trading the Japanese shares directly. The company is also a component of the VanEck Crypto and Blockchain Innovators UCITS ETF, providing another channel for institutional interest.
The immediate financial pressure point is the 26th warrant series, which carries an exercise price of 410 yen—about 22% above the recent closing price of 336 yen on April 22. As long as the stock trades below that level, no fresh capital flows from that channel. For the remainder of the year, the company is banking on a novel operational concept: generating ongoing cash flow by selling derivative options against its Bitcoin holdings. The next major test for the share price will come if it approaches the 410-yen threshold. Until the next quarterly report in May 2026, investors are left weighing deep paper losses against ambitious growth plans, all while regulatory and index-related uncertainties hang in the balance.
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