Japanese Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet has seen its enterprise value slip below the value of its Bitcoin holdings, entering uncharted territory as one of the world’s largest public holders of the digital asset.
On Tuesday, Metaplanet’s market-to-Bitcoin NAV (mNAV)—a ratio comparing the company’s value to its Bitcoin holdings—fell to 0.99, marking the first time the metric has dropped below 1, according to official data.
The decline has been steep: the mNAV has dropped more than seven points since mid-June as Metaplanet’s stock (3350) lost 75% of its value, falling from a peak of 1,895 Japanese yen ($13) per share to $3.20 on Tuesday, per TradingView.
Metaplanet’s mNAV fell below 1 after the company paused Bitcoin purchases for the past two weeks, with its most recent acquisition announced on Sept. 30.
Why mNAV matters
Unlike traditional net asset value (NAV), mNAV measures the ratio of enterprise value to Bitcoin NAV, helping investors assess how the market values a company relative to its BTC holdings, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET.
For this metric, enterprise value is calculated as the market capitalization of all Class A and Class B shares plus total debt and the notional value of perpetual preferred shares, minus the company’s cash balance.
When mNAV falls below 1, it indicates that a company is trading at a discount to the value of its Bitcoin holdings, potentially signaling market concerns about debt, its business model, or other risks.
“It’s not a substitute for audited financials, but a high-level indicator of how much of the company’s valuation is driven by its BTC treasury versus other factors,” notes BitcoinTreasuries.NET’s mNAV page.
Metaplanet holds $3.5 billion in Bitcoin
Metaplanet’s mNAV slipped to 0.99 while the company held 30,823 BTC ($3.5 billion) on its balance sheet, following its latest purchase of 5,268 BTC on Sept. 30.
The decline in mNAV comes roughly a year after the Japanese hotel company made its first Bitcoin acquisition on July 22, 2024, which immediately propelled its shares higher. That initial purchase boosted Metaplanet’s mNAV to an all-time high of 22.59 by July 24—a level it has not approached since.
The drop in Metaplanet’s mNAV underscores a broader cooling trend in Bitcoin treasury stocks, according to Smartkarma equity analyst Mark Chadwick.
“I see this decline in crypto treasury stocks as the popping of a bubble,” Chadwick said, noting that long-term Bitcoin bulls might view Metaplanet’s discount as a buying opportunity.
Metaplanet isn’t alone in facing recent stock declines. Michael Saylor’s company, Strategy, the world’s largest public Bitcoin holder with 640,250 BTC, has seen the value of its Class A shares fall roughly 30% since July.
