Metaplanet (3350), the largest Bitcoin holding company in Japan and the third largest Bitcoin cash company in the world, holding 40,177 BTC on its balance sheet, has confirmed a delay in the planned listing of its preferred shares.
CEO Simon Gerovich cited the complexity of navigating Japan’s underdeveloped preferred stock market as the main reason for the blockage.
The company’s planned instrument would be only the seventh preferred stock listed in Japan, Gerovich said, and, notably, the first ever perpetual preferred stock on the market.
Metaplanet announced in November a class of preferred shares listed in two tiers, Mars and Mercury. The move came after Strategy launched its own preferred stocks, with Stretch (STRC) being among the most popular.
Two major obstacles stood in the way of the listing of Metaplanet’s preferred shares.
First, Japanese foreign exchange rules require preferred dividends to be supported by sustainable, recurring cash flows valued under multiple market conditions. Metaplanet must demonstrate that its Bitcoin revenue generation business can produce stable returns even in adverse Bitcoin environments, and only has an operating history of six quarters.
Second, the company’s ambition to pay monthly dividends is much more frequent than Japan’s typical cadence of once or twice a year, requiring building an entirely new dividend infrastructure around record dates.
Gerovich concluded that the company is committed to offering preferred shares in the market and highlighted Japan’s status as one of the world’s most yield-hungry major capital markets.
Regarding profits, the company achieved net revenue of $19.5 million (3.08 billion yen, up 251% year-on-year) and operating profit of $14.4 million (2.27 billion yen, up 283%). Meanwhile, bitcoin’s return stood at 2.8% quarter-to-date.
Metaplanet shares are down 25% year to date.
