MicroStrategy ends bitcoin purchase streak after dozen weeks

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(Bloomberg) — MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR) said it didn’t buy any bitcoin (BTC-USD) in the prior week, halting a string of 12 consecutive weekly purchases that began in late October.

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The purchases had coincided with a record-breaking rally in the digital currency that had been driven in part by Donald Trump’s embrace of digital assets and the subsequent industry-friendly agenda in the first weeks of his second presidential administration. MicroStrategy bought more than $20 billion in Bitcoin during the period, increasing its overall holdings to around $44.7 billion, or more than 2% of all the tokens that will ever be minted.

The Tysons Corner, Virginia-based enterprise software company turned leveraged Bitcoin proxy led by Michael Saylor is aiming to raise $42 billion of capital through 2027. MicroStrategy sold $563 million of perpetual strike preferred stock last week and has been using at-the-market stock sales and convertible debt offerings to raise funds.

Hedge funds have been helping to drive the demand as they seek out MicroStrategy for convertible arbitrage strategies by buying the bonds and selling the shares short, essentially betting on the underlying stock’s volatility.

MicroStrategy shares have surged more than 2,200% since the end of 2022. The stock was down around 5% to $318.19 on Monday.

Donald Trump’s moves to impose tariffs on major US trading partners sparked a selloff in cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin was down around 1% to $95,920.

Saylor told Bloomberg Television in December that the company planned to focus more on fixed-income securities in the first quarter of the year.

The self-described Bitcoin treasury company is expected to address the types of issuances it plans to use during its call with analysts after reporting earnings on Wednesday, according to Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer, who has a “buy” rating on the stock.

“It has been much more aggressive in terms of issuing capital and using the proceeds to buy Bitcoin than had been originally outlined back when the company first talked about this in conjunction with its third quarter earnings call,” said Palmer. “So now the question is, will the company revise that plan one way or the other?”

—With assistance from Tom Contiliano.