Michael Saylor is now up this much on his Bitcoin bet

Established nearly 35 years ago by Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) spent most of its existence as a relatively obscure software company specializing in business intelligence. 

However, in 2023, its stock witnessed a remarkable surge of 337%, positioning it as one of the most significant gainers among U.S. companies valued at $5 billion or more. This surpassed the impressive rallies of Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) at 232% and Meta (NASDAQ: META) at 170%.

Today, January 12, 2024, Bitcoin is trading at $45,920. This means Michael Saylor’s BTC investments are worth over $600 million. He owns 17,732 BTC, as revealed in 2020, valued at an average of $9,882. This is in case he hasn’t acquired more of this digital asset.

His company, MicroStrategy, owns 189,150 Bitcoins valued at $8.69 billion, with an average purchase price of $31,168. Putting the gains at over $2.7 billion.

Turn towards Bitcoin investment

By mid-2020, MicroStrategy held slightly over $530 million in cash and short-term investments on its balance sheet. The then CEO and co-founder, Michael Saylor, observed these funds sitting largely idle on the sidelines due to low-interest rates and sought opportunities to deploy them effectively. And he opted for flagship crypto.

Saylor’s choice provided investors with a means to gain exposure to Bitcoin through regular stock purchases, eliminating the need to acquire the coins directly. Having relinquished the CEO position last year, Saylor now serves as the executive chairman.

Microstrategy’s stock has since surged in value, primarily due to its holding of maiden crypto, which allowed investors to indirectly invest in it by buying stocks of this company.

Bitcoin ETFs spell trouble for MSTR?

With the recent announcement of spot-Bitcoin ETFs, Microstrategy seems to have lost some of its appeal, as its stock has been trading in the red, losing -5.21% from the previous closure and -17.38% in the past 5 trading sessions.

However, although ETFs are managed passively, MicroStrategy has the flexibility to utilize its Bitcoin holdings actively. It can employ them, for instance, as collateral to generate additional business opportunities.

Whether this ETF approval will be an event that puts Saylor’s company in the backseat or whether it manages to navigate it successfully, only time will tell.