MicroStrategy makes good on promise to buy another 17K Bitcoin

MicroStrategy acquired 16,796 more Bitcoin (BTC) for $175 million, adding to its previous purchase of 21,454 BTC. Now, it owns 38,250 Bitcoin, according to its latest disclosure to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. This occurred on the same day that its board of directors made the cryptocurrency its primary treasury reserve asset. It was also indicated that the company could add to its Bitcoin reserves in the near future. The company’s CEO, Michael J. Slayer, also restated the same information in a tweet from earlier today.

On September 14, 2020, MicroStrategy completed its acquisition of 16,796 additional bitcoins at an aggregate purchase price of $175 million. To date, we have purchased a total of 38,250 bitcoins at an aggregate purchase price of $425 million, inclusive of fees and expenses.

— Michael Saylor (@michael_saylor) September 15, 2020

Grayscale’s founder, Barry Silbert, reacted to the news with a tweet of his own, commenting on the race between the two companies in acquiring Bitcoin.

Apparently there is some kind of bitcoin buying race between MicroStrategy and @Grayscale Game on

— Barry Silbert (@barrysilbert) September 15, 2020

Eagle-eyed observers on Twitter noted that MicroStrategy appears to have been dollar-cost averaging at $11,111.11 per Bitcoin.

$MSTR now owns $425M of $BTC (at an avg cost basis of $11,111) vs. a $1.38B market cap (30.8%) / $960M EV. All @michael_saylor needs to do is spin off the core business (with some negligible amount of necessary cash) and there is the long awaited BTC ETF. https://t.co/wABWPTLBqr

— John Street Capital (@JohnStCapital) September 15, 2020

However, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust is far ahead in the game, as it currently holds over 400,000 Bitcoin. MicroStrategy has some catching up to do.

Investor Claims There's No Way to Cash Out From Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust   June 12, 2020
Grayscale’s Bitcoin Holdings Pass $3 Billion, Growing 76% Year-on-Year   May 20, 2020
Institutional demand for crypto isn’t subsiding, but impact will be gradual   Jan. 31, 2021
Bloomberg Analyst Gives a Simple Reason Why BTC Is Better Than Gold   May 5, 2020
Controlling shareholders' stakes in GBTC are 'highly illiquid': Report   Nov. 28, 2022