Microstrategy buys $1.1 billion worth of bitcoins before share vote
(Bloomberg) — MicroStrategy Inc. has bought $1.1 billion of MicroStrategy Inc. as it prepares to vote for shareholders to increase its authorized Class A stock by 30 times.
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This is the 11th consecutive week that a bitcoin proxy has been bought for the enterprise software company. Co-founder and chairman Michael Saylor is raising his first cryptocurrency acquisition, and the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based firm now owns more than 2% of all Bitcoin in existence.
MicroStrategy bought an average of 11,000 Bitcoin tokens for 101,191 between January 13 and January 20, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He owns about $47.9 billion worth of Bitcoin.
The company has been making bitcoin purchases through on-market stock sales and revolving debt offerings. MicroStrategy plans to raise $42 billion in capital through 2027 through these offerings.
Hedge funds have been driving some interest as they look for arbitrage strategies that shift micro-strategies by buying bonds and short selling stocks.
MicroStrategy, whose administration is expected to have a more favorable regulatory environment for crypto, has accelerated capital goals and Bitcoin purchases since the election of President Donald Trump, a crypto skeptic turned industry supporter. Before Trump’s inauguration, Saylor attended the Crypto Ball in Washington and met with the president’s incoming cabinet and some members of his family, according to posts on X.
MicroStrategy shareholders will vote on Tuesday to increase the number of authorized shares of Class A common stock from 330 million to 10.3 billion and the number of shares authorized from 5 million to 1 billion. The amendments are expected to pass, with Saylor holding 47 percent of the vote.
The company, called Bitcoin Treasury, currently has about $5.42 billion in equity offerings in its capital plan. The increase in stock sales will allow MicroStrategy to continue to fund additional Bitcoin purchases.
Shares of MicroStrategy closed Friday at $396.50, up 37 percent so far this year.
