Metaplanet Stock Plunges as Index Removal and Volatile Bitcoin Weigh on Equity

Metaplanet's stock price has been under pressure, falling by 2.77% on Wednesday to trade at €1.23, just shy of its 52-week low. The company's share price has declined by 43% year-to-date and is now more than 48% below its 200-day moving average.

The decline in Metaplanet's stock price comes as the company faces a blow from being removed from the S&P Japan Mid Cap 100 index. This change forces passive funds and ETFs tracking the benchmark to offload their positions, adding to the selling pressure on the stock.

In an attempt to stem the exodus of investors, Metaplanet's management has introduced a new shareholder loyalty scheme that includes a lottery for the yen-pegged stablecoin JPYC. The lottery will award 1,000 eligible participants with a total of ¥1.5 million in tokens.

Metaplanet holds an impressive 40,177 Bitcoin, valued at approximately ¥457.6 billion or around $2.8 billion. However, the company's concentration on Bitcoin has weighed heavily on its equity due to the cryptocurrency's volatility.