David Bailey’s Nakamoto Inc., a Nasdaq-listed bitcoin company, has pushed its next Kraken loan payment out by a year, leaving it with no principal due in 2026 on a 165 million USDT debt that is now larger than the company’s stock market value. The amendment, disclosed in a filing on Thursday, also lets Nakamoto count its bitcoin options toward the loan’s collateral tests just as bitcoin trades below $70,000.
What changed in the Nakamoto Kraken loan
Under a second amendment signed on Nov. 11 with Payward Interactive, which does business as Kraken, 60 million USDT that was due on Dec. 4, 2026, now matures on Dec. 4, 2027, according to the company’s Form 8-K. The other 105 million USDT is still due on June 30, 2027.
The second change is about collateral. Nakamoto trades bitcoin derivatives with a Kraken affiliate through a pledged trading wallet. From now on, the net value of those positions counts toward the loan’s collateral call and liquidation thresholds without Nakamoto having to close them. Kraken sets that value daily, a negative value counts as zero, and the value cannot be used to get collateral released. The filing says the aim is to let protective positions, such as bitcoin put options, offset falling collateral before Nakamoto has to post more coins or repay part of the loan. Nakamoto can also meet a collateral call by closing derivatives positions, with the proceeds going straight to a collateral account.
“This amendment extends our runway and makes our collateral position more resilient,” Tyler Evans, Nakamoto’s chief investment officer, said in the company’s announcement.
The debt is bigger than the company
Nakamoto had 18,346,473 shares outstanding as of Nov. 9, according to its quarterly report. At Thursday’s $5.79 close, that is a market value of about $106 million, well short of the 165 million USDT it owes Kraken. CoinDesk highlighted the gap on Friday.
The company held 4,283 bitcoin at the end of September with a cost basis of $506.3 million, or roughly $118,200 per coin. Of those, 3,030 were pledged to Kraken, worth about $253.2 million at the time, when bitcoin was near $83,565. With bitcoin trading around $68,500 on Friday, according to Coinbase data, the pledged coins are worth roughly $208 million, about 126% of the loan. The 1,253 unpledged bitcoin are worth about $86 million, and Nakamoto had $19.4 million in cash at quarter end.
The quarterly report does not give the exact maintenance and liquidation thresholds. The 10-Q says that if the pledged bitcoin falls below the maintenance level, Nakamoto must repay part of the loan, pledge more bitcoin, or both. Below the liquidation threshold, an event of default occurs and Kraken may sell the pledged coins.
How Nakamoto got here
The Kraken facility dates to a master loan agreement signed in December 2025. Nakamoto pledged another 688 bitcoin in February to meet collateral requirements. In June it repaid 45 million USDT to cut the balance from 210 million USDT to 165 million, funded by selling about 600 bitcoin and some derivatives contracts. The new June loan started with 3,805 bitcoin of collateral, and Kraken released 775 of them in the third quarter as bitcoin rose. The loan carries a fee of 7.75% a year while at least 2,000 bitcoin sit in the trading wallet and 8% otherwise.
The squeeze mirrors what other bitcoin-heavy companies are dealing with after the drop. Miner MARA sold 13,597 bitcoin after the third quarter to repay $750 million in loans, and bitcoin fell below $70,000 on Friday for the first time since August.
The hedge has a shorter fuse than the debt
The new collateral rule is only as useful as the options behind it. At the end of September, Nakamoto had bought puts on 2,000 bitcoin at a $55,000 strike that expire on Dec. 25, 2026. It had also sold calls on 2,150 bitcoin at strikes from $80,000 to $110,000 and bought calls on 545 bitcoin. The whole book had a net value of minus $6.4 million at quarter end, which would have counted for nothing under the new terms.
That timing is the weak spot. The puts that would gain value in a deeper sell-off run out more than six months before the first 2027 maturity. With bitcoin still well above the $55,000 strike, they only start paying off in a much deeper slide. Any protection for the first half of 2027 would have to come from new positions, which the filings do not describe. The company has not said whether it has faced collateral calls since Sept. 30.
FAQ
How much does Nakamoto owe Kraken?
165 million USDT. After the amendment, 105 million USDT is due June 30, 2027, and 60 million USDT is due Dec. 4, 2027, so nothing is scheduled for 2026.
What collateral backs the Nakamoto Kraken loan?
Bitcoin only. At the end of September, 3,030 of Nakamoto’s 4,283 bitcoin were pledged, and the net value of its bitcoin derivatives with Kraken now also counts toward collateral tests if it is positive.
What happens if bitcoin keeps falling?
If the pledged coins drop below the maintenance threshold, Nakamoto must repay part of the loan, add bitcoin or both. Below the liquidation threshold, Kraken may sell the collateral.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
