Michael Saylor, CEO of enterprise data analytics company MicroStrategy, announced Monday via a Twitter post and company filing that the firm purchased an additional 7,002 Bitcoin (BTC), worth approximately $414.4 million, at an average price of $59,187 per coin. MicroStrategy sold 571,001 shares of company stock between Oct. 1 and Nov. 29 at $732.16 apiece, raising a total of $414.4 million in cash.
As of Monday, the company now owns 121,044 BTC, worth up to $3.57 billion. It was acquired at an average price of $29,534 per coin and included capital appreciation from previous coins.
In August 2020, MicroStrategy declared it would adopt Bitcoin as its treasury reserve asset, citing the digital currency being a “dependable store of value” and an attractive investment with greater long-term return potentials than holding cash. In addition, the firm drew attention to the unprecedented stimulus being printed by governments to combat COVID-19 as a catalyst for potential inflation and subsequent depreciation of fiat currencies. Since then, MicroStrategy has almost consistently purchased Bitcoin every single quarter.
Normally, everyday investors suffer losses when the price of Bitcoin goes down and gains when the price appreciates. However, that’s not necessarily the case for MicroStrategy. According to its earnings conference transcript published last month, Phong Le, president and chief financial officer of MicroStrategy, said that the company’s Bitcoin holdings are classified as “indefinite-lived intangible assets under applicable accounting rules.” This means that at any time subsequent to its acquisition, if the fair value, or market value, of the Bitcoin dips below its book value, the company will need to recognize impairment charges. These impairment charges can then be used to legally offset its corporate income tax liability.