Michael Saylor, the visionary behind MicroStrategy, recently made headlines during his appearance on CNBC's "Closing Bell: Overtime" in December, where he emphasized the resilience and potential growth of bitcoin in 2024. He advocated for bitcoin-centric strategies as being relatively secure for institutional investors, a stance that has proven to be exceedingly profitable, especially over the past week.
MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor (Getty Images)
MicroStrategy's stock surged by 10% on Wednesday alone, marking a 40% increase over three days, largely due to its significant bitcoin investments. As the largest shareholder with a 12% stake in MicroStrategy and owning 17,732 bitcoins personally since 2020, Saylor's wealth saw an astonishing increase of approximately $700 million since Sunday.
This wealth boost has propelled Saylor's total assets, combining his MicroStrategy shares and bitcoin holdings, from $2.27 billion to $2.96 billion within just a few days. Despite this financial windfall, MicroStrategy has chosen not to comment on Saylor's personal financial gains.
A major driver behind this week's financial surge was the dramatic rise in bitcoin's value, reaching its peak since November 2021, hitting around $64,000. This increase from an early week value of $51,500, despite a temporary dip to $60,000 following technical issues with Coinbase's app, underscores the cryptocurrency's volatile yet upward trajectory.
Saylor, who established MicroStrategy in 1989 and serves as its chairman, has emerged as a leading advocate for bitcoin, even co-authoring a book in 2023 titled "What is Money?" which delves into the essence of cryptocurrency.
While MicroStrategy's core business revolves around enterprise software and cloud services, its substantial bitcoin investments align the company closely with the cryptocurrency's fortunes. Recently, MicroStrategy disclosed the purchase of an additional 3,000 bitcoins, totaling $155 million, between February 15 and 25, elevating its bitcoin arsenal to roughly 193,000 units valued at near $12 billion.
The company's pivot to bitcoin investment began in mid-2020, with an initial commitment to allocate $250 million towards "one or more alternative assets," including digital currencies like bitcoin, when its market capitalization was around $1.1 billion. Now, MicroStrategy's market value has catapulted to over $16 billion.
MicroStrategy's dedication to bitcoin, as highlighted by CFO Andrew Kang during the company's recent earnings call, positions it as the preeminent corporate bitcoin holder globally. This strategy has not only fortified its bitcoin holdings but has also significantly contributed to a 52% increase in its shares this year, following a 346% rise in 2023.
Comments