MicroStrategy plunges after Bitcoin buys
Shares of MicroStrategy plunged in early trading Monday, falling 7.5% as investors showed more wariness of the company’s cryptocurrency investments.
Earlier Monday, MicroStrategy announced it had completed another round of Bitcoin purchases, bringing its total holdings to over 100,000. In its latest purchase, the company spent roughly $489 million on 13,005 tokens.
That announcement comes as Bitcoin prices continue to lose ground—and MicroStrategy’s purchase is already worth roughly $63 million less than the company paid.
Investors are also possibly getting concerned about the company’s debt offerings, which it has used to raise money to buy more cryptocurrency. Earlier this month, MicroStrategy announced it was raising $500 million in junk bonds to buy thousands of more Bitcoin.
MicroStrategy jumped onto people’s radar last year, when it made a massive bet on cryptocurrency, spending $250 million at a time most other companies were staying on the crypto sidelines. At the time, Bitcoin was in the $12,000 range, so as it began its astonishing run over the first third of 2021, investors flocked to the company. At one point, shares were as high as $1,315.
With Monday’s dip, they’re down to $587.
Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy has been and remains one of the biggest boosters of Bitcoin to date, recently telling Fortune he was thrilled over El Salvador’s decision to accept Bitcoin as legal tender.
"I can't see it as anything other than a cause to rejoice," he said. The new law gives "property rights to everybody in El Salvador that are beyond the interference of the government, or a bank, and so I think it's a good thing."
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
