Introduction: Two Ways to "Maintain the Narrative" in the Same Downcycle

On the day Bitcoin fell below $63,000, Metaplanet faced the reality of being removed from mainstream indices and chose to declare to shareholders through a Bitcoin reward program, "We are still here"; the CEO of Twenty One Capital chose to step into the public discourse, using history to tell the market, "This is not the first time Bitcoin has been declared dead." Both approaches point to the same core question: When the price itself can no longer provide support, what do Bitcoin treasury companies rely on to maintain long-term market trust?

1. Metaplanet: The Cost of Being Excluded from the Index and the Logic of Bitcoin Rewards

On June 22, S&P Dow Jones Indices removed Metaplanet from the S&P Japan Mid Cap 100 during its regular rebalancing. The company's stock price fell about 21% to 24% over the past month, and has dropped approximately 44% to 47% year-to-date, resulting in a decline in market capitalization that no longer meets the criteria for mid-cap inclusion.

This event has two layers worth dissecting. The first layer is at the mechanism level: the removal from S&P Japan is not an active denial of Metaplanet's Bitcoin strategy, but rather a mechanical execution of the index rebalancing rules - a decline in market capitalization triggered the removal threshold. However, the result is that passive institutional funds that were automatically absorbed due to the inclusion in the mainstream index will be forced to exit on rebalancing day, creating additional selling pressure. The second layer is at the narrative level: being excluded means a decrease in Metaplanet's visibility in traditional capital markets, occurring at a time when its Bitcoin treasury strategy faces the greatest skepticism.

The company chose to announce an expansion of its shareholder rights program on the same day, collaborating with Coincheck to launch a Bitcoin reward project, using June 30 as the registration cutoff date to provide physical Bitcoin rewards to shareholders holding at least 100 shares and having an account with Coincheck. This timing is clearly deliberate: using a positive shareholder benefit announcement to hedge against the negative market sentiment caused by the index exclusion on the same day. The essence of the Bitcoin reward is to directly link shareholder interests with Bitcoin prices - holding shares means holding coins, aligning the investor's profit curve with the company's core assets.

2. Twenty One Capital: A Public Voice from the CEO in the Most Pessimistic Market

On June 24, Twenty One Capital CEO Jack Mallers publicly responded to media personality Dave Portnoy's theory of Bitcoin going to zero, citing Bitcoin's historical resilience since 2013 through various "moments of peril" such as the Silk Road shutdown, the collapse of Mt. Gox, threats from multi-national regulatory bans, the impact of competing digital assets, and the failure of FTX, to refute the core premise of the zero theory. Mallers also cautioned Portnoy that truly understanding Bitcoin requires "eliminating self-centeredness, abandoning the illusion of omniscience, and recognizing that one is not the protagonist deciding the direction of this matter."

This response is not just an expression of personal opinion for the market positioning of Twenty One Capital. Twenty One Capital positions itself as a "pure Bitcoin-native company" - not mining, not transitioning to AI infrastructure, not holding other assets, only holding Bitcoin and building financial products and educational content around Bitcoin. In this positioning, the CEO's public endorsement of Bitcoin's long-term value directly contributes to the core component of the company's brand credibility.

During the Bitcoin downcycle, as fear spread and many followers chose silence, Mallers' proactive speaking out is a differentiated investor relations strategy - it sends a signal to the market that the company's decision to hold Bitcoin is not a periodic opportunistic bet, but based on a fundamental judgment of Bitcoin's long-term value, not shaken by short-term price fluctuations.

On June 24, Metaplanet and Twenty One Capital collectively answered the same question from two directions: When Bitcoin prices themselves cannot provide support, what is the core competitiveness of Bitcoin treasury companies? Metaplanet's answer is "to deeply bind shareholder interests with Bitcoin, and to demonstrate commitment through real actions in the toughest times"; Twenty One Capital's answer is "to maintain the long-term narrative with history and belief, and to remain publicly clear-headed in the most pessimistic times in the market." The common challenge they face is whether Bitcoin can re-establish direction in the short term, providing price-based real support for these narratives.

Data Source: https://bbx.com/ Crypto concept stock information library, compiled based on global listed company announcements and SEC/TSE disclosure documents from yesterday.

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