Thursday Nov 21 2024 06:23
4 min
MicroStrategy (MSTR) shares surged again on Wednesday as Bitcoin price rises to fresh record above $94,000, driven by the company's status as the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, which is currently enjoying record high prices.
On Tuesday, the price of Bitcoin reached an all-time high of over $94,000, coinciding with significant purchases by MicroStrategy. Earlier this month, the technology firm acquired 51,780 Bitcoin for approximately $4.6 billion over a six-day period, even as prices surpassed the $90,000 mark.
As of Sunday, MicroStrategy's total Bitcoin holdings amounted to 331,200, valued at around $31 billion at current prices. Remarkably, the company's shares have outperformed Bitcoin this year, soaring nearly 700%, while Bitcoin itself has more than doubled in value. Recently, MicroStrategy's stock, which has already doubled this month, surged an additional 15% to reach $495.98 in trading.
It's worth noting that MicroStrategy still holds significantly less Bitcoin than BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which currently holds 474,627 Bitcoin, making it the largest Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
MicroStrategy, a software provider turned bitcoin investor, has raised over $7 billion for its aggressive cryptocurrency acquisition strategy since the US election, coinciding with a surge in bitcoin prices to new record highs.
On Wednesday, the company increased its convertible bond offering from $1.75 billion to $2.6 billion, aiming to capitalize on the optimism surrounding digital assets following Donald Trump’s recent presidential victory.
This addition follows the $4.6 billion raised from a stock sale last week, also earmarked for further bitcoin purchases.
MicroStrategy’s shares soared 15 percent on Wednesday to reach a record high, rising nearly 900 percent over the past year.
The company’s post-election buying spree highlights its commitment to acquiring as much bitcoin as possible, a strategy initiated by executive chair and founder Michael Saylor in August 2020. Last month, MicroStrategy announced plans to raise $42 billion from share and debt sales in the coming years to invest in cryptocurrency.
Mark Palmer, a senior equity analyst at the Benchmark Company, commented, “This reflects not only the market’s acceptance of the company’s strategy but also the current sentiment: MicroStrategy has the right approach at the right time, especially with expected support for bitcoin and crypto from the Trump administration, particularly regarding a more favorable regulatory environment.”
“Bitcoin is Manifest Destiny for the United States,” Saylor remarked in an X post last week, referencing the 19th-century phrase that inspired American settlers to expand westward.
MicroStrategy successfully enlarged its bond offering, which can be converted to company stock at a 55 percent premium over Tuesday afternoon’s average price, despite the five-year debt having a zero percent coupon. This achievement highlights “the tremendous market potential for MicroStrategy securities,” according to Palmer.
Mara Holdings, a cryptocurrency mining company, has entered the equity market this week with a five-year convertible bond offering of $850 million, which was oversubscribed and increased from an initial $700 million.
Overall, funds raised by cryptocurrency companies, including MicroStrategy, in the US equity market this year have reached $9.8 billion, exceeding the previous record of nearly $3.4 billion set in 2021, according to Dealogic data.
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