Nakamoto Pushes $60 Million Kraken Debt to 2027
Nakamoto gets an extra year on $60 million in Kraken debt, but its Bitcoin stash is still tight as collateral. The loan is in USDT, and derivatives now count in the test.
Key Takeaways
- Nakamoto pushes $60 million of its Kraken debt from December 4, 2026 to December 4, 2027.
- The remaining $105 million stays due on June 30, 2027, so the company does not have to repay anything this year.
- Nakamoto’s Bitcoin stash is worth less than its total $165 million debt, while many coins are locked up as collateral.
David Bailey’s Nakamoto has pushed part of its debt to Kraken back by a year, while the company’s Bitcoin stash is now worth less than the amount it still has to pay back. The Bitcoin treasury firm now has more time, but the margin is still tight: the market value is around $104 million (€93.9 million), while the outstanding debt is $165 million (€149 million).
Debt Gets Extra Time
Under an amendment signed Wednesday and reported Thursday in an 8-K, Nakamoto is moving the maturity date for $60 million (€54.1 million) of the loan from December 4, 2026 to December 4, 2027. The other $105 million (€94.8 million) remains due on June 30, 2027. That means the company does not have to make any repayments this year.
Nakamoto borrows through Kraken in USDT, Tether’s dollar-pegged stablecoin. The company said the change extends the term and makes the collateral position more robust. Kraken is also now allowed to count the net value of Nakamoto’s Bitcoin derivatives toward the collateral test, within certain limits.
Collateral Still Thin
According to the quarterly report, Nakamoto had 3,030 of its 4,283 Bitcoin pledged to Kraken at the end of September. Those coins were worth about $253 million (€228 million) at the time, with Bitcoin trading around $83,500 (€75,400). With Bitcoin now below $69,000 (€62,300), that same stash is worth about $208 million (€188 million), or roughly 126% of the debt, based on CoinDesk calculations.
If that value falls below a maintenance level, Nakamoto has to repay part of the loan, add more Bitcoin, or do both. The company still has about 1,253 unpledged Bitcoin left, worth around $86 million (€77.6 million) at the current price.
The derivatives now count in that test. At the end of September, Nakamoto had sold call options on 2,150 Bitcoin with strike prices between $80,000 (€72,200) and $110,000 (€99,300). Against that, it held put options on 2,000 Bitcoin with a strike of $55,000 (€49,600), which expire on December 25. The total position was down $6 million (€5.4 million) at the end of the quarter, and under the old terms it would not have counted for anything.
Relevant for European Investors
The case shows how quickly a Bitcoin treasury company can come under pressure when Bitcoin falls and a big chunk of its stash is tied up as collateral. For European crypto followers, the key point is that this is not just about price risk, but also about loan terms, derivatives, and liquidity in USDT. Structures like this are more common among companies that build their balance sheets mostly around Bitcoin.
The broader market is feeling that pressure too. When Bitcoin fell below $70,000 after a wave of liquidations, it became clear how fast leveraged positions and collateral setups can flip when the market keeps sliding.