MicroStrategy buys $347M more bitcoin in Q2

MicroStrategy Inc. and its subsidiaries purchased about $347 million worth of bitcoin — approximately 12,333 units — from April 29 to June 27, according to the Tysons-based tech company’s June 28 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Believed to be the world’s largest publicly traded corporate holder of bitcoin, MicroStrategy and its subsidiaries now hold approximately 152,333 bitcoins, purchased for about $4.52 billion total. The average purchase price of each bitcoin was about $29,668, including fees and expenses. As of 11:09 a.m. Monday, bitcoins were selling for $30,934.96 per unit, putting MicroStrategy’s total holdings at a value of about $4.71 billion.

From May 1 to June 27, MicroStrategy raised $333.7 million from the sale of more than 1.07 million shares through its sales agreement with Cowen and Company LLC and Canaccord Genuity LLC. As of 11:13 a.m. Monday, shares were trading for $371.70.

MicroStrategy announced its first bitcoin purchase in August 2020, saying it had converted $250 million from its cash holdings to more than 21,000 bitcoins, making it one of the first public companies to convert its cash treasury reserves into cryptocurrency as a store of value. The strategy is a move that MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, who stepped down as CEO after the company’s August 2022 earnings report, believes will protect the company’s money from inflation, and one that some traditional finance experts caution against.

Saylor is currently facing a lawsuit from Washington, D.C., alleging he defrauded the city of more than $25 million in income taxes. Although in March a D.C. Superior Court judge dismissed part of the lawsuit that could have netted D.C. up to $150 million, the city can proceed with the part of the lawsuit seeking $25 million.