Metaplanet ended the first quarter of 2026 holding 40,177 Bitcoin, up from 35,102 at the end of December 2025, after purchasing approximately 5,075 BTC during the period, making it the world’s third-largest publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company. That aggressive accumulation came at a cost.
1/4 of the 2nd floor
The Tokyo-listed company posted a general loss of about $728 million in the three months to March 31 due to non-cash valuation cuts on its Bitcoin holdings after BTC prices fell about 24% during the quarter, from about $87,000 on Jan. 1 to about $66,000 at the end of the quarter.
Losses widened sharply from the same period a year ago, with underlying losses per share increasing to about $0.63 compared to about $0.078 12 months ago.
The poor profitability contrasted with the company’s operating results. Metaplanet reported first-quarter operating profit of 2.27 billion yen, or about $14.38 million, and net sales of about $19.5 million.
The operating profit margin reached 73.6%. Revenue has more than tripled year-over-year from approximately $5.5 million in the same quarter of 2025, with most of this growth coming from its Bitcoin income generation division, which records options premiums and derivatives valuation gains. Hotel operations contributed to smaller, more stable revenues.
Borrow to Buy More Bitcoin
To fund the Bitcoin purchase, Metaplanet secured an additional $500 million Bitcoin-collateralized credit facility. As of May 13, the company had $302 million outstanding under that contract.
Total net assets fell from $2.96 billion at the end of December to about $2.6 billion on March 31. This is because valuation losses outpaced new capital raised during the quarter.
Despite the loss, Metaplanet left its full-year 2026 guidance unchanged. The company expects net sales of $100 million and operating profit of $72 million this year. No current or net income guidance was provided due to Bitcoin price sensitivity.
BTC returns as a measuring stick
Bitcoin per diluted share, the company’s preferred performance metric, increased from 0.0240486 BTC to 0.0247319 BTC during the quarter, reflecting what Metaplanet calls a 2.8% BTC return in the first quarter.
The company considers this metric a key indicator of shareholder value, measuring Bitcoin accumulation on a per-share basis after taking into account dilution from new share issuances.
Featured image by Getty Images, chart by TradingView
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