Admitting Insufficient Disclosure, Metaplanet CEO Responds to Compensation Plan Controversy and Denies Involvement in MMXX Trading Decisions

Odaily Planet Daily News: Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich stated that he is a significant but non-controlling shareholder of MMXX's parent company, has not been involved in the company's trading decisions, and admitted that the company has not adequately explained the 10th Series Share Subscription Rights Incentive Plan and MMXX's organizational structure. The incentive plan was established in December 2022, with 20% of Metaplanet's fully diluted share capital set aside as the incentive pool. Since Metaplanet shifted to a Bitcoin treasury strategy, each new share issuance to purchase Bitcoin has diluted existing shareholders while expanding the subscription rights available to Gerovich. The company fixed the incentive pool at 319.464 million shares in August and set a 5-year lock-up period, but did not reduce the pool's size back to pre-Bitcoin-strategy levels.

On August 28, Gerovich exercised 92,000 subscription rights and received 64 million new shares, bringing his total holdings to 79.5875 million shares, approximately 6.2% of the company's total share capital. Some shareholders are still demanding disclosure of MMXX's owners and the cancellation of the newly added 273 million share incentive allocation. Metaplanet's stock fell 7% on Monday and is down 43% year-to-date, while the Nikkei 225 index has risen 31% over the same period.