As Bitcoin flirts with a $100,000 price point after a one-month price gain of 40%, MicroStrategy CEO and Bitcoin maximalist Michael Saylor, for one, doesn’t think the market is overheated. On the contrary, his company’s latest buy may have, at least in part, added fuel on Bitcoin’s latest rip.
On Monday, Saylor announced that his company, MicroStrategy, acquired another nearly 52,000 Bitcoin. With an average cost of over $88,000—a level the flagship cryptocurrency first topped less than two weeks ago—suggests that MicroStrategy acquired the majority of those holdings within the last month.
MicroStrategy’s latest buy brings the company’s total Bitcoin holdings to over 330,000 BTC since the company’s first foray into the cryptocurrency space in August 2020.
The most recent buy cost the company $4.6 billion.
The Second-Largest Bitcoin Holder
There will only ever be 21 million Bitcoin mined, and just under 20 million are already in circulation. MicroStrategy holds approximately 1.6% of the total supply that will ever exist.
That makes MicroStrategy the second-largest Bitcoin holder in the world—second only to the cryptocurrency’s elusive founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, who holds an estimated 1.1 million BTC.
With Bitcoin trading at over $98,000 today, Nakamoto’s presumed holdings are worth over $100 billion. But Bitcoin’s mysterious founder has never moved any of their holdings, widely presumed to be acquired in the Precambrian stage of Bitcoin’s evolution.
Of course, Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy are separate entities, so Saylor doesn’t own the full 332,000 BTC himself. However, Saylor owns just under 10% of the company, according to his most recent schedule 13G filing with the SEC.
In addition to his stake in MicroStrategy, in 2020, Saylor shared that he personally holds just under 18,000 BTC. That makes his personal holdings worth over $1.7 billion alone, based on today’s prices.
Since Janurary, MicroStrategy’s market cap has ballooned over 800% to just shy of $100 billion. For reference, MicroStrategy’s stock was trading at under $50 a share in January 2024; on Wednesday, MSTR shares traded for $489.15 in after hours.
From Skeptic to Whale
Michael Saylor was once a Bitcoin skeptic. In 2013, he compared investing in Bitcoin to “online gambling” and said Bitcoin’s “days are numbered” in a Tweet.
But in 2020, he had a drastic change of heart, partially in response to rising inflation. He invested $250 million from MicroStrategy into 21,454 BTC and has been aggressively expanding his and MicroStrategy’s stockpile ever since.
Moreover, Saylor is one of Bitcoin’s most vocal and high-profile advocates, doing numerous, multi-hour, in-depth interviews on both major media outlets, like CNBC and with more niche financial YouTubers.
For investors, MicroStrategy became a “backdoor” way to invest in Bitcoin via traditional securities. Investing in MicroStrategy stock provided a way to gain exposure to Bitcoin while sidestepping the cryptocurrency’s reputation for risk, heightened by high-profile exchange implosions like Mt. Gox in 2014 and FTX in 2021.
While MicroStrategy continues to serve as a proxy for Bitcoin exposure, the SEC’s approval of Bitcoin ETFs in early 2024 has provided investors with a more direct alternative. Bitcoin ETFs saw a strong debut, generating $4.4 billion in trading volume on their first day on the stock exchange.
As Bitcoin continues to gain mainstream awareness and acceptance, the rise of Bitcoin ETFs and companies like MicroStrategy could redefine how traditional investors approach the cryptocurrency.
However, the long-term sustainability of such investments will hinge on the evolving regulatory landscape and Bitcoin’s ability to maintain its volatile edge while gaining legitimacy.
Related: The Dark Side of Celebrity Cryptocurrency Endorsements
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Neither Fiscal Report nor the author receives a commission through links in this content.
