Simon Gerovich has transformed Japan’s Metaplanet from a small public company into one of the world’s largest corporate holders of Bitcoin. Since 2024, the company has been systematically restructuring its balance sheet around BTC, and by 2026 it is no longer simply holding cryptocurrency as a reserve asset but building a fully fledged financial model based on accumulating Bitcoin, raising capital, and increasing the amount of BTC per share. This is why Metaplanet is often compared with Michael Saylor’s Strategy, although the Japanese company operates in a different regulatory and financial environment. As of August 2026, Metaplanet reported holdings of 43,000 BTC, placing it third among public corporate holders of Bitcoin.
Why Metaplanet Chose Bitcoin
The key turning point came in April 2024, when the company began using Bitcoin as a strategic treasury asset. For Gerovich, the logic behind this strategy is based on several properties of BTC: its limited supply, the absence of a central issuer, and its potential to serve as a long-term foundation for a corporate balance sheet.
In 2026, Gerovich continues to argue that short-term price volatility does not change Bitcoin’s fundamental properties. In his public appearances, he emphasises the distinction between market price, which depends on investor sentiment, and the more enduring characteristics of the network. From his perspective, Metaplanet’s objective is neither to trade BTC nor to attempt to predict market peaks and bottoms, but to systematically increase its Bitcoin reserve over the long term.
This is precisely what distinguishes the company’s strategy from an ordinary cryptocurrency investment. If a business simply purchases a certain amount of BTC with surplus cash, Bitcoin remains an additional asset. At Metaplanet, it has gradually become the central element of the company’s financial architecture.
How the Company Is Increasing Its Bitcoin Reserve
Metaplanet does not limit itself to using its own operating profits. Capital markets have become the primary mechanism for scaling the strategy. The company issues shares, stock acquisition rights, bonds, and other instruments, directing the funds raised towards additional Bitcoin purchases.
This model works only under certain conditions. The company must be able to raise capital on acceptable terms and deploy it in such a way that the amount of Bitcoin per share increases faster than the dilution of equity.
This is why Gerovich pays considerable attention to the BTC per share metric. In his view, what matters is not only the total amount of Bitcoin on the balance sheet, but also how much BTC economically corresponds to each shareholder. During one of his appearances in 2026, he stated that since the company adopted the Bitcoin standard, Bitcoin per share had increased by approximately 5,000%.
The main sources of reserve expansion can be summarised in several areas:
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issuance of ordinary shares and stock acquisition rights;
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debt financing and credit facilities;
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issuance of preferred instruments;
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use of share price volatility to raise capital on more favourable terms;
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allocation of part of the funds raised directly to BTC purchases.
This approach makes Metaplanet more of a Bitcoin treasury company than a traditional company with a small cryptocurrency reserve.
How Quickly BTC Holdings Grew
The pace of accumulation clearly demonstrates the scale of the strategy. At the end of 2025, the company held approximately 35,102 BTC. In the first quarter of 2026, Metaplanet acquired another 5,075 BTC for approximately $405 million, bringing its total reserve to 40,177 BTC. This allowed it to move into third place among public companies by Bitcoin holdings.
Purchases then continued. In July 2026, the company increased its position by another 2,823 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 43,000 BTC.
However, the growth in the number of coins is not the only measure of effectiveness. Metaplanet also reports the BTC Yield metric, which shows the change in the amount of Bitcoin per fully diluted share. In the first quarter of 2026, this figure stood at 2.8%, noticeably lower than in previous periods. This demonstrates that as the company grows in scale, it becomes more difficult to maintain the previous rate of growth in BTC per share.
Why the Japanese Market Plays a Special Role
Metaplanet’s strategy is notable not only for the scale of its purchases but also for its geographical focus. The company is effectively attempting to create a Japanese version of a public Bitcoin platform through which local investors can gain indirect exposure to BTC via shares without purchasing cryptocurrency themselves.
For Gerovich, Japan is of strategic importance. The country has a large savings market, a developed financial system, and a significant pool of institutional capital. If the rules governing the use and custody of Bitcoin continue to become clearer for banks, insurance companies, and other professional market participants, corporate Bitcoin reserves could gain an additional source of demand.
In 2026, Gerovich explicitly stated that the company is building infrastructure with a more mature Japanese market in 2028 in mind. In his view, future regulatory changes could expand the ability of banks, insurance companies, and institutional investors to work with Bitcoin.
Metaplanet therefore positions itself not only as a holder of BTC but also as a potential platform for a broader Bitcoin financial ecosystem in Asia.
Bitcoin Is Used Not Only as a Passive Reserve
Another important distinction in Gerovich’s strategy is that the company does not view Bitcoin solely as an asset to be purchased and held.
Metaplanet divides the use of its balance sheet across several areas. A significant portion of its Bitcoin remains a long-term reserve. At the same time, BTC can also serve as a basis for raising financing and supporting various financial operations.
The company is also developing its Bitcoin Income Generation business, which is intended to generate cash flow through strategies related to volatility and the derivatives market. According to Gerovich, this business generated approximately $55 million in revenue in the 2025 financial year.
This structure is important for the sustainability of the model. If the company uses debt or preferred instruments, it must service interest and dividend obligations. Consequently, relying solely on an increase in the BTC price is not enough — sources of ongoing cash flow are also required.
Expanding Beyond Japan
In 2026, Metaplanet’s strategy took a new direction — the US capital market. In August, the company announced an agreement with Nasdaq-listed Super League Enterprise. Under the terms of the deal, Metaplanet plans to contribute 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million in cash to the company, after which Super League is expected to be renamed Superplanet.
Following completion of the transaction, Metaplanet expects to acquire approximately 95.7% of the company’s ordinary shares. Superplanet is intended to become a separate Bitcoin treasury platform listed on Nasdaq, while Metaplanet itself will continue to operate on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Gerovich is therefore attempting to build a structure in which capital is raised simultaneously through two of the world’s largest financial markets — Japan and the United States. The idea is for each company to have its own investor base and financing instruments, while the overall Bitcoin reserve continues to grow at the consolidated group level. The transaction still requires the necessary approvals and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.
What Risks This Model Creates
Aggressive Bitcoin accumulation gives Metaplanet a potential advantage when BTC rises, but at the same time it sharply increases the company’s dependence on the cryptocurrency market.
The main risk lies in the high concentration of assets. If the value of Bitcoin declines significantly, the value of the company’s balance sheet decreases, capital-raising conditions deteriorate, and the premium at which its shares trade relative to the value of the BTC owned by the company may shrink.
The second risk is related to equity dilution. If the company continuously issues shares to fund new Bitcoin purchases, the total amount of BTC may increase, but the economic stake of an individual shareholder may not. This is precisely why management focuses on BTC per share rather than solely on the size of the reserve.
The third factor is the cost of financing. As long as markets are willing to provide Metaplanet with capital on favourable terms, the model can scale. If investor interest declines or borrowing costs rise sharply, the pace of BTC accumulation may also slow.
What Simon Gerovich Is Ultimately Building
By 2026, it is clear that Gerovich’s objective extends far beyond an ordinary corporate Bitcoin reserve. Metaplanet is attempting to create a public financial platform in which Bitcoin serves as the foundation of the company’s capital, collateral, and investment narrative.
Having started by purchasing BTC with its own funds, the company has moved towards systematic capital raising, increasing Bitcoin per share, creating products based on its own balance sheet, and now building a similar structure in the US market.
This is why Metaplanet is notable as one of the clearest examples of the second wave of corporate Bitcoin adoption. Michael Saylor’s Strategy demonstrated that a public company can make BTC its central reserve asset. Simon Gerovich is attempting to adapt this idea to the Japanese market while simultaneously expanding it into an international model.
By September 2026, 43,000 BTC on the balance sheet is no longer an experimental investment but the foundation of Metaplanet’s strategy. The main question now is not whether the company will continue buying Bitcoin, but how effectively it can increase BTC per share and finance further accumulation without creating excessive risks for its own capital.
