Metaplanet CEO Fires Back at Critics as $1.2 Billion Bitcoin Paper Losses Mount

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich fired back at critics, accusing the Japanese Bitcoin-holding firm of misusing shareholder funds and hiding key disclosures.

Why it matters:

• Metaplanet holds over $1.2 billion in unrealized Bitcoin losses, making transparency around fund use a direct concern for shareholders.
• Allegations of undisclosed borrowing against BTC holdings raise governance red flags for public-company crypto investors.

The details:

• Critics alleged Metaplanet bought BTC at a market top, stayed silent during the drawdown, and borrowed against those holdings without disclosing interest rates or counterparties.
• Gerovich confirmed Bitcoin wallet addresses are publicly listed, with a live shareholder dashboard tracking holdings in real time.
• Gerovich called September’s purchase price a “local top” but defended a long-term, non-market-timed strategy.
• The company reported 6.2 billion yen in operating profit — up 1,694% year-over-year.
• Gerovich attributed reported accounting losses solely to unrealized mark-to-market BTC fluctuations on unsold holdings.
• Meanwhile, CoinGecko currently tracks Metaplanet’s unrealized BTC losses at over $1.2 billion.

The big picture:

• Metaplanet follows the MicroStrategy playbook — using equity and debt to accumulate Bitcoin as a primary treasury asset.
• Corporate BTC holders now face growing pressure to meet traditional disclosure standards as unrealized losses mount across the sector.
• The allegations expose a structural tension: Bitcoin’s on-chain transparency does not automatically satisfy securities law disclosure requirements.