MicroStrategy Stock Falls Again. Its Next Bitcoin Move Will Be Crucial. — Barrons.com

By Callum KeownMicroStrategy stock fell again early Friday as the value of its Bitcoin holdings continued to diminish.The price of Bitcoin fell below $80,000 early in the day before climbing back above that milestone to $82,183 — it has fallen around 17% since last Friday when it topped $99,000.MicroStrategy's aggressive Bitcoin bet is still a profitable one--the company bought its 499,069 Bitcoins at an average price of $66,357 per token. Despite the continued pressure, Friday's Bitcoin price of around $82,000 is significantly above that level.But the losses in the past week are jarring--the company's Bitcoin holdings were worth around $50 billion a week ago but were valued at around $40 billion early Friday.The stock fell 0.9% in early trading, after plunging 9% Thursday. Other crypto-exposed stocks were also down — Coinbase Global fell 1.8% and Robinhood Markets was 1.1% lower.MicroStrategy, which changed its name to Strategy earlier this month, paid about $1.99 billion in cash for 20,356 Bitcoins between Feb.18 and Feb.23, at an average price of $97,514. That latest weekly purchase is now worth $1.67 billion.As the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, the stock's direction is largely tied to that of the cryptocurrency. MicroStrategy has fallen 17% so far this year, through Thursday's close, while Bitcoin is down 12%.MicroStrategy's weekly purchases are always closely followed but with Bitcoin's dramatic slump next week's could be crucial. Will the company double down on its strategy or hit the pause button? Is there any chance the company decides to sell some of its holdings?Write to Callum Keown at [email protected] content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.