Michael Saylor’s $4.7B Bitcoin Bet Back in the Green
The bitcoin (BTC) holdings of MicroStrategy (MSTR) have again turned profitable as prices pushed towards $31,000 on Monday morning.
The company’s stash was deeply in the red late in 2022 as bitcoin slumped nearly 80% from its November 2021 peak, but catalysts such as a spot ETF and the upcoming halving event have helped bolster fortunes, leading to a near-doubling in price this year.
Formerly the CEO of MicroStrategy and now its executive chairman, Michael Saylor over the years has become one of bitcoin’s most vocal supporters and remains a prolific buyer. His firm has so far sold only once: A 708 bitcoin sale in December 2022, worth $11 million at the time.
The company’s most recent publicly known purchases were in the weeks ahead of Sept. 24 of this year when it added 5,445 bitcoins for just under $150 million, or an average price of $27,053 each. That brought MicroStrategy’s holdings to 158,245 bitcoins acquired at an aggregate purchase price of roughly $4.68 billion, or an average price of $29,582 each.
At the current price of $30,650, the bitcoin bet is in the green by about $1,000 per coin, for a total gain of roughly $160 million.
The firm’s holdings of 158,245 bitcoins is nearly 14 times that of the next nearest institutional holder, data from Bitcoin Treasuries show.
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And MicroStrategy might be buying even more. The company in August said it may raise up to $750 million by selling more stock, with plans to use some of the proceeds to purchase bitcoin.
Edited by Stephen Alpher.