MicroStrategy buys an additional $10 million worth of bitcoin

Quick Take

  • Michael Saylor’s firm MicroStrategy purchased an additional 480 bitcoin at an average price of $20,817.
  • The software company now owns 129,699 bitcoins at an average price of $30,664 per bitcoin.

MicroStrategy acquired an additional 480 bitcoin (BTC) worth around $10 million to its balance sheet, it revealed on Wednesday.

Founder and CEO Michael Saylor shared on Twitter that his firm acquired the new bitcoin at an average price of $20,817. The purchases were made between May 3 and June 28 while the cryptocurrency market was experiencing a sell-off.

This is the firm’s first purchase announcement since April when it bought 4,167 bitcoin, worth around $190.5 million at the time. MicroStrategy, and its subsidiaries, now hold approximately 129,699 bitcoins — with an aggregate purchase price of approximately $3.98 billion, according to an 8-K filing with the SEC.

Saylor spoke to The Block in May amid the market downturn. He noted that bitcoin’s near-term volatility was largely irrelevant once people understand the fundamentals of the cryptocurrency. 

At the time MicroStrategy’s bet on bitcoin had fallen into the red as the cryptocurrency dipped below its average purchase price (at the time) of $30,700. The average purchase price of the company’s holdings is now $30,664 per bitcoin, including fees and expenses, according to Wednesday's filing.

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Throughout the market tumult there has been constant speculation that MicroStrategy would face a margin call. Saylor previously dismissed this in comments to The Block, as well as the suggestion that the firm would sell its holdings.

Bitcoin's price was hovering either side of $20,000 at the time of writing, according to Coinbase data. The leading cryptocurrency by market cap has been steadily declining since the beginning of May for a plethora of reasons. 

A worsening macroeconomic outlook due to rising inflation concerns has set the tone for trading since the beginning of the year, but the decline in crypto prices has accelerated since the beginning of May. 

On May 12 the Terra blockchain ecosystem collapsed after its algorithmic stablecoin, terraUSD, lost its peg to the dollar. The crypto market has been unstable since with lending platforms Celsius and BlockFi both facing significant issues, while crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital had its positions liquidated by several lenders.

Despite this MicroStrategy has continued to buy bitcoin as the firm’s bullish stance appears to be unwavering.


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About Author

Adam Morgan is a reporter covering cryptocurrency, financial markets, and economics – anything from price movements, earnings reports, and inflation to the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decisions and everything in between. Adam is based in London.