MicroStrategy holdings surge in value as bitcoin breaches $87,000

Bitcoin whale Michael Saylor, the executive chairman of Tysons-based tech company MicroStrategy, has reason to gloat today. 

Under Saylor’s laser-eyed guidance, MicroStrategy has pursued bitcoin as an investment strategy since 2020. The company announced its first bitcoin purchase in August 2020, making it one of the first public companies to convert its cash treasury reserves into cryptocurrency as a store of value. MicroStrategy has since gone on to become the world’s largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency. 

On Monday, bitcoin hit a record high, breaching $87,000 per coin. At 4:05 p.m., bitcoins were trading for $87,081.97, according to Coinbase, the nation’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

As of Nov. 10, MicroStrategy and its subsidiaries held a total of 279,420 bitcoins, which was worth $24.33 billion as of 4:05 p.m. The company’s 279,420 bitcoins were purchased for approximately $11.9 billion, and at an average purchase price of $42,692 per bitcoin, including fees and expenses.

Saylor, who has made bold pronouncements and statements about bitcoin in the past, in September told CNBC that he thought the cryptocurrency could rise as high as $13 million per bitcoin by 2045.

According to a Monday news release, in its most recent crypto purchase, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 10, MicroStrategy bought about 27,200 bitcoins for approximately $2.03 billion in cash, averaging $74,463 per bitcoin, including fees and expenses. 

At close Monday, MicroStrategy shares were trading for $340, up from $297 at open. 

The bitcoin rally began on Tuesday with Donald Trump’s presidential election victory. Trump has made pro-bitcoin comments and promises during his campaign. In July, he said at a bitcoin conference: “If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, United States of America, to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future.” 

Trump has also said he wants all bitcoin mined in the U.S. and has pledged to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet.” The president-elect also launched a new venture with his family to trade cryptocurrency, World Liberty Financial.

He also said he would remove Gary Gensler, the Securities and Exchange Commission chairman who has an aggressive stance on crypto. The president does not have the power to remove an SEC chair without cause during his term, but Gensler’s term will end in 2026. 

Saylor’s strategy hasn’t always led to fortune. He stepped down as CEO after MicroStrategy’s August 2022 earnings report, when the company disclosed that it had paid a total of $3.977 billion for its bitcoin, which at that time had fallen to a market value of about $2.451 billion. At that point, MicroStrategy also had taken on about $2.4 billion in loans and debt to acquire bitcoin. At points in 2022, the currency fell below $20,000 to prices it had not seen since 2020.