Strategy Updates Its Bitcoin Moves on Monday. Why It's a Big Deal for the Stock and Cryptos. — Barrons.com
By Mackenzie TatananniInvestors will be watching to see whether Strategy, the company formerly known as MicroStrategy, is buying the Bitcoin dip as the price of the crypto free-falls.Strategy has earned its reputation as the world's largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency through its steady purchases since establishing a Bitcoin treasury in 2020.However, the rapid decline in the price of Bitcoin over the past few weeks means there will be an intense focus on its next moves. At the start of each week, the company releases a securities filing showing how many tokens its purchased in the preceding seven days.On Nov. 17, the company disclosed it had snapped up 8,178 Bitcoins for $835.6 million in a series of purchases occurring every day the previous week, according to co-founder and chairman Michael Saylor.Saylor has been unflaggingly bullish, even as Bitcoin's decline stuns investors. The crypto surged past $100,000 in December 2024, on the expectation that the incoming administration would create a friendly regulatory environment and beckon in a so-called crypto golden age.Fast forward to nearly a year later: the price of Bitcoin has slumped this month as investors unload risk-on assets for amid concerns about stretched artificial-intelligence valuations. On Nov. 4, the price plunged below the $100,000 mark for the first time since May.Bitcoin traded as low as $86,010 on Nov. 20, down 32% from the all-time high of $126,272 it reached in early October. As of the morning of Nov. 21, the price had fallen 3.1% over the past 24 hours to $83,669.Saylor indicated in a social media post that Strategy might be buying the dip. "Endure," he wrote on X, in his usual cryptic fashion. Saylor has continually urged investors to "HODL," or hold on for dear life, an initialism reminding Bitcoin fans to cling to their digital assets for the long term.The disclosure of another transaction won't signal anything out of the ordinary — Strategy has been continually supportive of Bitcoin. However, if the company goes a week without buying, it could be a sign uncertainty is starting to set in. The last time Strategy paused its Bitcoin purchases was in the period from Sept. 29 to Oct. 5.As of Nov. 17, Strategy's Bitcoin holdings stood at 649,870 tokens, purchased for an aggregate price of $48.37 billion. As of Nov. 21, those holdings were valued at $54.37 billion, roughly 12% more than the amount Strategy paid.Write to Mackenzie Tatananni 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.