MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin (BTC) holdings averages at 74.3% of its total balance sheet assets, since they started acquiring Bitcoin in 2020, to date. Their initial acquisition of 21,454 BTC on August 11, 2020 was the first time a publicly traded company bought and held Bitcoin, and this quickly became 71.9% of the total assets on their balance sheet. Citing a ‘dual strategy’, MicroStrategy is focused on growing their business intelligence software and acquiring Bitcoin for the future. In tandem, allocation of cash and cash equivalents dropped from a 49.8% asset share to just 4.07%.
As of August 17, 2023, MicroStrategy holds an approximated 152,800 BTC, a 612.2% increase in their total holding since their initial acquisition back in 2020, or slightly over 7 times its initial holdings. This is also equivalent to 0.786% of the total current Bitcoin supply.
In the four years that have followed, the Nasdaq-listed business intelligence company has seen itself become the leading institutional investor of Bitcoin, holding 139,836 more BTC than Marathon Digital Holdings, the publicly traded company with the second largest institutional Bitcoin holding.
In 2019, MicroStrategy held $456,727,000 in cash and cash equivalents, and $459,844,000 in total assets excluding the former. In 2020 following their initial Bitcoin investment, their cash and cash equivalents asset allocation reduced by $397,052,000 or 86.9% to $59,675,000, while their short-term investments were reduced 100% in the same year.
As of 2022, cash and cash equivalents are reportedly at $43,835,000 and just 1.82% of total assets on its balance sheet, down by 90.4% since 2019 prior to the firm purchasing Bitcoin.
In their recent Q2 2023 financial report, MicroStrategy currently holds $65,968,000 in cash and cash equivalents, representing 1.96% of their total assets in balance sheet. Conversely, their Bitcoin investment has risen to $2,323,252,000, or 69.08% of their total assets held. They have not added any additional short-term investments to their balance sheet since their first purchase of Bitcoin in 2020.
MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Purchase History (2020 to 2023)
MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin purchase history and average BTC price for each acquisition, since its first purchase on August 11, 2020, are as follows:
| Date Purchased | BTC Purchased / Sold | Avg. BTC Price |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 2020 | 21,454 | $11,882 |
| Sep 11, 2020 | 16,796 | $10,419 |
| Dec 5, 2020 | 2,574 | $19,425 |
| Dec 21, 2020 | 29,646 | $21,925 |
| Jan 21, 2021 | 314 | $31,808 |
| Feb 2, 2021 | 295 | $33,810 |
| Feb 24 to Mar 3, 2021 | 19,452 | $52,765 |
| Mar 1, 2021 | 328 | $45,732 |
| Mar 5, 2021 | 205 | $48,888 |
| Mar 12, 2021 | 262 | $57,146 |
| Apr 4, 2021 | 253 | $59,289 |
| May 1, 2021 | 271 | $55,387 |
| May 29, 2021 | 229 | $43,663 |
| Jun 21, 2021 | 13,005 | $37,617 |
| Aug 23, 2021 | 3,907 | $45,294 |
| Sep 13, 2021 | 5,050 | $44,945 |
| Nov 29, 2021 | 7,002 | $59,187 |
| Nov 30 to Aug 12, 2021 | 1,434 | $57,477 |
| Dec 9 to Dec 29, 2021 | 1,914 | $49,229 |
| Dec 30, 2021 | 660 | $37,865 |
| Feb 15 to Feb 22, 2022 | 4,167 | $45,714 |
| May 3 to Jun 2, 2022 | 480 | $20,817 |
| Aug 2, to Sep 1, 2022 | 301 | $19,851 |
| Nov 1 to Dec 21, 2022 | 2,395 | $17,871 |
| Dec 22, 2022 | -704 | $16,761 |
| Dec 24, 2022 | 810 | $16,790 |
| Feb 20 to Mar 27, 2023 | 6,455 | $28,016 |
| Mar 24 to Apr 4, 2023 | 1,045 | $28,016 |
| Apr 29 to Jun 27, 2023 | 12,333 | $28,136 |
| Jul 24 to Aug 2, 2023 | 467 | $30,835 |
| Total: 152,800 | Average: $35,885 |
46% of MicroStrategy's BTC Holdings are from 2020 Investments
MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin purchases in Q3 and Q4 2020, 38,250 and 32,220 BTC respectively, combine to make up 46.12% of its current Bitcoin holding of 152,800 BTC as of August 17, 2023. The firm executed their largest-ever Bitcoin purchase in Q3 2020, becoming the first publicly traded company to hold Bitcoin by acquiring 38,250 BTC (21,454 BTC on August 11 and 16,796 BTC the following month) at an average Bitcoin price of $11,151, which is also their lowest average purchase price across all quarters to date.
MicroStrategy doubled down on their Bitcoin investment in Q4 2020, adding 32,220 BTC to their balance sheet at an average Bitcoin price of $20,675, 85.41% higher than their initial investment in Q3 of that same year.
Record Year: Most Number of Purchases Executed in 2021
MicroStrategy executed a total of 16 purchases in 2021, four times the number of purchases made in other years. Q1 of that fiscal year contained their largest addition of the year (20,856 BTC) and Q3 was the smallest (8,957 BTC). Yet, all quarterly purchase amounts in 2021 were less than any made in 2020, and is only 77.4% of Bitcoin acquired in 2020
Four Consecutive Quarters of Reduced Acquisitions Before 2023 Ramp Up
From Q4 2021 to Q3 2022, MicroStrategy reduced its acquisition of Bitcoin significantly, in spite of Bitcoin prices ranging in the $19,000 to $21,000 range. The amount of BTC purchased fell an average of 62.6% QoQ, and fell the most between Q1 2022 and Q2 2022 – 88.48% from 4,167 BTC purchased to 480.
With Bitcoin prices falling to $17,871 in Q4 2022, MicroStrategy started ramping up their purchases again between Q4 2022 and Q2 2023, with their quarterly acquisition increasing by an average of 132.73% QoQ during the time period. Altogether, in the three consecutive quarters, their total acquisition increased by 435.12%.
As the crypto market has strengthened in recent months as compared to the period of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) in 2022, MicroStrategy’s purchases have grown, adding 20,300 BTC to their holdings in the first seven months of the 2023 fiscal year at an average price of $28,751.
How Much Bitcoin did MicroStrategy Sell Off?
MicroStrategy made their only sale of Bitcoin in December 2022, selling 704 BTC and citing tax advantages as the core reason behind the decision. The company then quickly bought more BTC to increase their overall holding by ~2,500 during the time period. They have not sold any Bitcoin since, and have continued to dollar-cost-average (DCA) into the market. Their Bitcoin accumulation thesis also remains unchanged throughout the bull and bear market cycle.
Despite a change in leadership from former CEO Michael Saylor (who remains Executive Chairman of the company) to Phong Le in 2022, the company has remained steady in its Bitcoin conviction with no signs of redirecting its course anytime in the near future.
Methodology
This study examines Bitcoin purchases quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and year-on-year (YoY) made by publicly traded business intelligence company MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR). Bitcoin acquired up to August 17, 2023 has been considered and included in this study.
Yearly total Bitcoin purchase amounts were taken directly from MicroStrategy’s published financial statements. Individual purchase amounts, dates, and average Bitcoin price were calculated by curating and reviewing Michael Saylor’s purchase announcement tweets, news reports, and checked against the company’s published financial documents for accuracy. Individual Bitcoin purchases were then grouped accordingly by the fiscal quarter in which they occurred, and analyzed to identify any relevant trends.
MicroStrategy’s balance sheet assets have been broadly categorized for this analysis:
- Digital Assets (BTC)
- Cash & Cash Equivalents
- Other Assets (Total Assets ex. Digital Assets, Cash & Cash Equivalents)
Balance sheet assets are derived from annual reported financial documents. As the annual report is unavailable for 2023, their Q2 10-q report was used. This excludes the additional 467 BTC that MicroStrategy has acquired since its Q2 2023 financial report, as no reliable number on their cash and cash equivalents holdings is currently available.
All Bitcoin prices and purchase prices stated are in USD.
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Curious to know more about the top 10 public companies holding Bitcoin? Check out this article that examines how these Bitcoin treasuries are performing.
Nicholas Coursel-Stoll is a product marketer and freelance writer. After writing his university thesis on the intersection of NFT technology and the book publishing industry, he became deeply involved in the crypto industry and hasn’t left since. Follow the author on Twitter @nicholascoursel
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