VanEck says Metaplanet’s executive equity pool remains far above peers despite a 41% cut, labeling its compensation structure “Bad” and urging further dilution reversal.
VanEck’s latest research on the ten largest digital‑asset treasury firms rates Metaplanet’s executive compensation as “Bad,” the only firm in the lowest category. The asset manager notes an equity plan equal to 14.7% of fully diluted shares and officer exposure of 8.2%, roughly ten times the 0.8% average officer exposure of its peers and nearly four times the peer‑average equity plan size.
Metaplanet, a Japanese Bitcoin treasury company, previously allowed its option pool to expand automatically as shares were issued to fund Bitcoin purchases, growing the pool from 46 million to 319.5 million shares—a 273 million‑share increase. After shareholder criticism, the company ended the automatic mechanism in August and reduced the pool by 41% in September, to 188.2 million shares. VanEck says the reduction “falls well short of the mark” and recommends reversing the 273 million‑share expansion, implementing a shareholder‑approved plan, and, if possible, clawing back past grants.
For context, Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, maintains an equity plan of 2% of fully diluted shares and officer exposure of 0.5%, which VanEck rates “Good.” The article provides no further information on Metaplanet’s response or any subsequent actions, so the reporting is limited to VanEck’s assessment and recommendations.