Bitcoin bulls fronted by MicroStrategy and executive chairman Michael Saylor added 51,780 BTC—or $4.6 billion—to his Bitcoin holdings on Monday.
In 2010, MicroStrategy and Saylor made a strategic decision to allocate capital to “maximize long-term shareholder value.” The purchase is the latest and largest in Bitcoin purchases so far in 2020.
Since then, the business intelligence firm has transformed itself into a bitcoin development company, pioneering a crypto-treasury asset model that others have copied. He also amassed over 331,200 bitcoins, making him the owner of the largest corporate treasury by assets. This is worth more than $30 billion as of this report.
Here's a look back at MicroStrategy's five biggest Bitcoin purchases to date—ranked by BTC volume (not USD value)—and their immediate impact on Bitcoin's price, since Saylor's announcements appeared on social media.
The largest bitcoin purchase in MicroStrategy's history is the most recent, as of this writing, announced Monday morning by Saylor. Although Bitcoin fell shortly after the announcement, a recovery followed and reached a daily high of $92,653, according to data from CoinGecko.
The next day, Bitcoin hit a new all-time high above $94,000. Microstrategy's latest purchase brought its holdings to 331,200 BTC, which is over $30 billion at its current value.
2) 29,646 BTC – December 21, 2020
Average price: $21,925 Total cost: $650 million
MicroStrategy's second largest Bitcoin purchase took place in December 2020 amid rising Bitcoin prices and bull market sentiment. The firm announced its fourth Bitcoin purchase of 29,645 BTC.
Although the purchase was the largest for MicroStrategy at the time, Bitcoin's price was relatively unchanged in the 24 hours surrounding the announcement. Data from CoinGecko shows Bitcoin's opening price on December 21 was $23,518, closing a day later at $23,795 for a small gain.
3) 27,200 BTC – Nov. 11, 2024
Average price: $74,463 Total cost: $2.03 billion
Less than a week after Donald Trump was named president-elect, MicroStrategy announced that it had bought 27,200 bitcoins. That stock was bought between October 31 and November 10, when bitcoin was trading between $72,000 and $80,000.
However, following Saylor's announcement on the morning of November 11, which set another new post-election high, bitcoin moved sharply higher, closing the day at $88,637 – a move of more than 10%.
4) 21,454 BTC – Aug. 11, 2020
Average price: $11,652 Total cost: $250 million
MicroStrategy is the fourth largest Bitcoin purchase in history for the first time ever and the lowest average price ever recorded.
Against the backdrop of social distancing and macroeconomic shocks due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Saylor justified the company's acquisition, saying, “Our decision to invest in Bitcoin at this time is partly driven by a combination of macro factors regarding the economic and business environment. We believe our corporate treasury program poses long-term risks—risks that must be addressed first.
While the purchase has aged well, with Bitcoin's current price up nearly 700%, the initial announcement means little to Bitcoin's price immediately afterward. Bitcoin in 2010 It opened at $11,682 on August 11, 2020, and closed at $11,579 the next day—a low.
5) 19,452 BTC – February 24, 2021
Average price: $52,765 Total cost: $1.026 billion
So far this year, MicroStrategy's largest dollar-denominated bitcoin purchase has been in 2018. On February 24, 2021, it was revealed that he had bought 19,452 BTC for over $1 billion.
That billion-dollar push came less than a week after Bitcoin breached $50,000 for the first time and days after it hit a new all-time high above $57,000.
While other major microstrategy buyouts and announcements have produced solid gains or negligible moves, the February 24, 2021 buyout announcement has seen the most significant decline. Bitcoin opened that day at $48,692 and closed the next day at $46,993, according to CoinGecko – a 3.5% decrease.
Edited by Andrew Hayward.
Daily Debrief Newspaper
Start every day with top news stories, plus original features, podcasts, videos and more.
