Nakamoto pushes $60 million of its bitcoin-backed Kraken loan to 2027
The company now has no loan principal due this year. Its 3,030 pledged bitcoin were worth about $210 million at Friday morning's price.
Nakamoto Inc has delayed part of its loan from the exchange Kraken by a year. The Nasdaq-listed bitcoin company owns Bitcoin Magazine and The Bitcoin Conference.
It moves 60 million USDT of the 165 million USDT it owes from December 4, 2026, to December 4, 2027. Nakamoto disclosed the change in a November 12 filing with the SEC, the US markets regulator.
USDT is Tether's dollar stablecoin, a token meant to be worth $1. The other 105 million USDT still falls due on June 30, 2027. As a result, no loan principal is due in 2026, Nakamoto said. The amendment was signed on November 11.
What backs the loan
The quarterly report describes the loan as secured only by bitcoin pledged to Kraken. On September 30, Nakamoto held 4,283 bitcoin, the report shows. Of those, 3,030 were pledged to Kraken. The report was filed on November 12.
Nakamoto paid about $506 million for its coins, or roughly $118,200 each. The loan was originally 210 million USDT. In June, Nakamoto sold about 600 bitcoin and some derivative contracts and repaid 45 million USDT.
If the pledged coins drop too far in value, the report says, Nakamoto has to add bitcoin or pay down part of the loan. Below a lower level, Kraken can sell the coins.
Under the amendment, Nakamoto's bitcoin derivatives at Kraken now count toward its collateral. Derivatives are contracts whose value depends on bitcoin's price. They count only when their net value is above zero. Kraken sets that value daily. It is used only when Kraken checks whether to ask for more collateral, how much, or whether to sell, the filing says.
Nakamoto said the change is meant to let hedges, such as put options, cushion a fall in its pledged bitcoin's value. A put option pays out if the price drops below a set level.
The quarterly report lists put options on 2,000 bitcoin that pay out below $55,000, expiring December 25, 2026. It also lists call options Nakamoto sold on 2,150 bitcoin, which pay the buyer if the price rises above a set level. On September 30, its derivatives were a net liability of about $6.4 million.
How the numbers look now
Bitcoin traded near $69,400 on Bitstamp at 6:47 a.m. ET on November 13. At that price the 3,030 pledged coins were worth about $210 million, by Orange Wire's calculation. That is about 1.27 times the 165 million USDT owed.
Nakamoto's shares closed at $5.79 on November 12, CoinDesk reported. By CoinDesk's figures, the company's stock market value of about $104 million is smaller than what it owes Kraken.
"This amendment extends our runway and makes our collateral position more resilient," said Tyler Evans, Nakamoto's chief investment officer, in the company's press release.
Companies that borrow against their bitcoin can be forced to sell it if the price falls far enough. Nakamoto now has more time to repay, but its pledged coins still have to hold their value against a debt fixed in dollars. It is one test of how companies that hold bitcoin as a reserve cope with a falling price.
Sources (5)
- SEC: Nakamoto Inc Form 8-K, November 12, 2026
- SEC: Nakamoto press release, "Nakamoto Extends Maturity of Kraken Loan" (Exhibit 99.1)
- SEC: Nakamoto Inc Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026
- CoinDesk: Bitcoin firm Nakamoto owes Kraken $165 million, more than its entire market value
- Bitstamp: BTC/USD ticker
Not financial advice. How we report and check stories.
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