- MicroStrategy has recorded $34 million in its first ever bitcoin sale.
- The company recorded a paper loss of more than a billion in 2022.
- MicroStrategy made its first bitcoin purchase in August 2020.
Despite incurring a paper loss of about $1.3 billion in 2022, MicroStrategy’s CFO Andrew Kang said the company will continue to trade bitcoin. During a webinar presentation of the fourth quarter 2022 financial results, Kang said:
“We may consider pursuing additional transactions that may benefit from fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin, or other market turbulence that aligns with our long-term Bitcoin strategy.”
The company’s stance on cryptocurrencies comes at a time when the crypto market is witnessing a significant recovery from last year’s low although it is not clear if the cryptocurrencies will regain their previous highs.
Microstrategy bitcoin investment
Microstrategy made its first bitcoin purchase in August 2020 acquiring 21,454 BTC in what it described as a “capital allocation strategy”. The company has been accumulating bitcoins since then and as of December 24, 2022 it had up to 132,500 BTC worth $4.027 billion according to Bitcoin Microstrategy stats on Buy Bitcoin Worldwide.
In a presentation in February 2023, Kang confirmed that Microstrategy held 132,500 bitcoins worth about $1.84 billion as of December 3. 31, 2022.
Last quarter, MicroStrategy posted a loss of $34 million after making its first-ever bitcoin sale. The company made the decision to sell some of its bitcoins to recoup some tax losses.
Michael Saylor, co-founder of Microstrategy, said that Bitcoin is one of the most important benchmarks it uses to measure the performance of its stocks against. He said the company’s stock is up 117% since August 2020 compared to the price of Bitcoin, which rose 98% in the same period.
In an interview with a popular news outlet, Saylor said:
“The only true safe haven for an institutional investor is Bitcoin. Bitcoin is the only globally recognized digital commodity and therefore if you are an investor, Bitcoin is your safe haven in this regard.”