Metaplanet reveals it sold and rebought 10,000 BTC weeks after denying a sale

Metaplanet confirmed that it added a net 1,000 BTC during Q3 2026 in a Monday, October 5 disclosure that confirmed the purchase of 11,000 BTC after selling 10,000 BTC during the quarter.

The announcement mentioned that the token sale was a practice round to prove that the Simon Gerovich-led firm could liquidate its Bitcoin treasury for cash if needed.

Gerovich denied any Bitcoin sales in August

As Cryptopolitan reported in August, Gerovich denied rumors that the Tokyo-listed company was selling Bitcoin. The market chatter started after blockchain trackers spotted big token moves from the firm’s public addresses.

In response to that episode, Gerovich wrote that “no bitcoin was sold, and our holdings remain 43,000 BTC.” The CEO explained it away as 5,014 BTC (worth roughly $320 million at the time) shifting between the firm’s custodial addresses.

Metaplanet was spotted sending another 1,350 BTC to Coinbase Prime on August 28, part of 4,750 BTC (worth about $374 million) that Cryptopolitan reported happened in a single week.

Between those transfers, Metaplanet left its official balance untouched at 43,000 BTC.

Why did Metaplanet sell Bitcoin?

Metaplanet’s September 5 filing now confirms that the firm sold 10,000 BTC and reacquired 11,000 tokens during the same quarter when the sale rumors started to circulate. For the quarter, the firm added 1,000 tokens to its portfolio, taking total holdings to 44,000 BTC as of September 30.

Notably, the disclosure did not specify when Metaplanet sold Bitcoin, which could have come after Gerovich’s August denials.

Metaplanet cited credit as the reason for offloading the tokens into a down market, not cash flow. It said it deliberately sold Bitcoin to raise more than it owed bond outstanding principal, borrowings and other interest-bearing debt to show rating agencies and bond buyers that it is both able and willing to liquidate its main asset to meet obligations.

Metaplanet said it took the step partly because an overseas peer’s credit rating signaled that Bitcoin, which the company refuses to sell, may count for little in a credit assessment. The firm says it now intends to pursue a rating of its own.

Because Metaplanet sold the tokens for less than it cost to buy them, the sale triggered a capital loss for US tax purposes. Metaplanet, in its filing, states that the loss could support a deferred tax asset of about $97 million. However, that figure is pending auditor review.

Option income fell even as the stack grew

The trading maneuver arrived alongside softer results from the business that is supposed to fund the treasury. Metaplanet said its Bitcoin Income Generation operation, which writes Bitcoin options for recurring revenue, booked 848 million yen in the third quarter, down from 1.747 billion yen in the second and well off the 4.242 billion yen it earned in the final quarter of last year.

The company said progress has “fallen short” of its own expectations but left its full-year forecast, issued on August 13, unchanged.

Metaplanet is leaning harder on financing to keep buying. The firm has outlined a new net interest income strategy and a revised capital policy, and it is awaiting the fourth-quarter close of its planned investment in Nasdaq-listed Super League Enterprise, a deal that would give it a US-listed vehicle rebranded as Superplanet.

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