MicroStrategy Books Impairment Charge of $24.1M on Massive Bitcoin Holdings in Q2

MicroStrategy (MSTR) posted an impairment charge of $24.1 million on its bitcoin (BTC) holdings in the second quarter, compared to $917.8 million in the year-ago quarter and an $18.9 million charge in Q1, according to its latest earnings report.

The company’s digital asset impairment reflects the decline in the price of bitcoin versus the price at which the bitcoin was acquired. Under current accounting rules, the value of digital assets such as cryptocurrencies must be recorded at their cost and then only adjusted if their value is impaired, or goes down. But if the price rises, that does not get reported unless an asset is sold.

The price of bitcoin began the second quarter at roughly $28,500 and ended the quarter at about $30,400.

“Our bitcoin holdings increased to 152,800 bitcoins as of July 31, 2023, with the addition in the second quarter of 12,333 bitcoins being the largest increase in a single quarter since Q2 2021,” said Andrew Kang, Chief Financial Officer, in a statement. “We efficiently raised capital through our at-the-market equity program and used cash from operations to continue to increase bitcoins on our balance sheet. And we did so against the promising backdrop of increasing institutional interest, progress on accounting transparency, and ongoing regulatory clarity for bitcoin.”

Bitcoin prices have increased roughly 76% this year, while MicroStrategy shares have more than tripled. Its 152,800 bitcoins are worth roughly $4.5 billion.

Overall, MSTR reported revenue of $120.4 million, short of analyst estimates of revenue of $123.1 million.

Shares of MSTR were falling 1% to $430 after-hours on Tuesday.