MicroStrategy, a leading business intelligence company, has made a significant move in the cryptocurrency market by purchasing an additional $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. This acquisition brings the company’s total holdings to 402,100 bitcoins, which is nearly 2% of the total supply that will ever exist, according to BitcoinTreasuries.net. MicroStrategy is now the second-largest holder of bitcoin in the public markets, just behind BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
With the latest purchase of 15,400 bitcoins, MicroStrategy continued its bitcoin buying spree, acquiring the latest stash at an average purchase price of $95,976 per bitcoin. The announcement was teased by company chairman Michael Saylor over the weekend.
Despite the recent dip in trading, MicroStrategy shares have seen a substantial gain of 500% year-to-date. Bitcoin’s price also experienced a slight downturn, trading below $96,000 at the time of the announcement, down 1. 4%.
Saylor has been advocating for publicly-traded companies to hold bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset since 2020, when MicroStrategy made its first bitcoin purchase. As more companies adopt this strategy in 2024, some analysts believe it could support the prices of the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization during times of volatility.
However,Saylor is urging Microsoft to change this by investing in the digital asset. In a video dated December 1, Saylor presented to the Microsoft board, explaining why the tech giant should buy bitcoin. He suggested that Microsoft should invest in cryptocurrency instead of buybacks or distributing dividends to reduce shareholder risk and increase enterprise value.
This presentation follows a proposal from the National Center for Public Policy Research, a think tank that engages in shareholder activism in support of conservative policies, advocating for an assessment of investing in bitcoin. The Microsoft board had previously recommended shareholders vote against the proposal.
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