MicroStrategy Makes Largest-Ever Bitcoin Buy, Adding $5.4 Billion Worth

MicroStrategy unveiled a $5.4 billion Bitcoin purchase Monday, lifting its total holdings to 386,700 BTC—or $37.6 billion worth—as the company topped off its corporate coffers for the third time this month. It’s the firm’s largest-ever Bitcoin purchase disclosure, both in terms of BTC total and U.S. dollar value.

The recent purchase run, which took place over the past week, represented MicroStrategy’s largest Bitcoin acquisition since the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based firm started accumulating Bitcoin in August 2020 under the leadership of Executive Chairman Michael Saylor.

In a filing, MicroStrategy said that the $5.4 billion in Bitcoin was purchased using the proceeds of convertible note offerings and the sales of its shares. Averaging around $97,862 per Bitcoin purchased, the company said it had obtained around 55,500 Bitcoin using only cash.

MicroStrategy’s stock price had increased 4% during pre-market trading, rising to $439 ahead of Monday’s opening bell. Not long after, however, MicroStrategy’s stock price was down 1% to $418 as investors digested the Bitcoin-buying firm’s latest purchase.

Over the past month, MicroStrategy shares have rallied 80%, as the so-called Bitcoin treasury company’s BTC purchases have accelerated at a record pace. As the price of Bitcoin has staged a record-setting climb, MicroStrategy shares have surged 500% year-to-date.

This month, MicroStrategy has purchased around 134,480 Bitcoin, worth $13 billion, according to Bitcoin Treasuries. Prior to that, it had taken MicroStrategy three years to accumulate an equivalent sum of Bitcoin across dozens of purchases since November 2021.

Even though MicroStrategy’s stock price has been on a hot streak, breaking a 25-year high earlier this month, some investors believe the company’s valuation has far exceeded that of its Bitcoin holdings. Last week, the influential investment firm Citron Research disclosed a short position in the stock, saying its valuation had become “completely detached” from reality.

Leveraging its shares and debt to effectively become a leveraged bet on Bitcoin, the company’s stock price currently trades at a hefty premium compared to its Bitcoin holdings. That ratio, also referred to as its NAV Premium, clocked in at 2.5x on Monday, according to MSTR Tracker.

Alongside MicroStrategy’s record-setting valuation last week, the company was one of the most traded stocks on Wall Street, trading only behind Nvidia on the Nasdaq in terms of dollar value. Meanwhile, other firms are continuing to take a page out of the Bitcoin buyer’s playbook.

Mirroring the format for MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin purchase disclosures, the medical device manufacturer Semler Scientific announced that it had purchased 297 Bitcoin for around $30 million. That lifted the firm’s total Bitcoin holdings to 1,570 Bitcoin, worth $118 million.

The Santa Clara, California-based firm began purchasing Bitcoin in May, beginning with an allocation of 581 Bitcoin, according to Bitcoin Treasuries. Still, its Bitcoin holdings currently represent around 0.4% of MicroStrategy’s trove in terms of its dollar value.

Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication with additional details.

Edited by Andrew Hayward